Chapter 286: The Other Chamber
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At the top of the grand stairs, Samantha hesitated in her movements, whilst her fingers balled delicately in front of her, her satin maroon dress clinging uncomfortably to her skin. She was strictly opposed to wearing such a provocative dress and coming down the stairs looking like a harlot on parade, she had refused to wear this dress despite their threatening persuasion, but each time they reminded her that she will not get the proof she needed if she kept up with her nonsensical attitude, it drew a limit to which she once thought she could cross.
When she dared to use her powers, the lady with the Auburn-brown hair swiftly trapped her wrist using enchanted chains, as if they had already sensed that would be her next option towards escape– it felt as though they knew her powers more than her, they knew her strategies regardless of how many times she tried to outsmart them, and it frightened her to her gut.
She needed to get out of the room at least, they made it obvious that they didn’t mind locking her up for months if she disobeyed their orders, and none of this still made accurate sense to her. It felt like she was in one of those lucid nightmares– because for her to believe, in the twinkle of an eye, that she was in the land of her husband’s enemy felt preposterous, she nearly laughed.
She did laugh, because how could she not?
However, when she didn’t wake up from her supposed dream, the feeling of reality began to gnaw at her consciousness.
Standing before the stairs with a monitoring guard behind her, the unfamiliar fortress she found herself in shimmered with opulence, but an eerie atmosphere lingered heavily in the air. As she descended, the grand hall came alive with the cacophony of a celebration hosted by unfamiliar faces, and through the many crowds, she could spot the man who had said the most strangest words to her, even after she tried to smash him with a chair– why does he keep staring like he knew her from somewhere?
It spooked her.
As if timed, the sinister laughs instinctively diverted her attention back to the many crowd, the air filled with a palpable sense of malice. Her green eyes darted nervously, catching glimpse of twisted creatures and shadowy figures in elaborate robes, whilst the flickering candle lights casted eerie shadows on the ornate wall. Some of them looked human, and others seemed to possess physical parts of creatures... or animals?
She reached the bottom staircase, feeling the weight of countless gazes upon her.
The people present had paused in their revelry, turning their attention to the newcomer, and the reaction on their faces was palpable. When they see a chained woman dressed in an exquisite satin outfit, there was absolutely nothing that defined respect in her presence, because she was like a polished object brought for a pleasurable display.
A hush fell over the room as she was made to stand in the midst of an arcane gathering, and her mind inadvertently reminded her of those times when she was brought forward to the stage by Madame Cerise, ready to auction her off to the hungry clients present, and just thinking of the similarities right now made a dread settle in the pit of her stomach.