Snippet #1405983

The site of the room sent chills down Andréa's spine and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. The armor clad woman peered between heavy lashes in an attempt to take in every unsettling detail of the dark, cold room. Though the lack of light strained her eyes, Andréa was grateful to it. It made it nearly impossible to see the true extent of what torment the souls unfortunate enough to be dragged down here suffered. The flickering candles cast eerie shadows across the room and Andréa's eyes followed them until they came to rest on a shadowy figure.

Slowly that figure turned, reveling a face encased in a grotesque mask of the likes of the devil grinning back at her. Though her heart was pounding at a much more rapid pace than usual, Andréa kept her breathing steady and her expressions calm. The dark figure turned away for a moment and spoke to what she had originally mistaken for a fluke in the design of the chamber. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized this "fluke" was, or originally had been, a man. The masked figure quickly turned back around and with a disproving shake of his head, began to close this distance between himself and the open doorway Andréa was standing in. As he did so, Andréa's slender hand instinctively tightened about the hilt of her sword.

Andréa's back straitened slightly as Sir Batrava inched closer and never once did her dark eyes move from the false ones of the grinning mask. Part of Andréa wished for the mask to disappear, to enable her to see that there was still some humanity left in the Dark Knight's cold eyes. Yet the other part of her was grateful to the mask, grateful that it hid what she feared to be hard, blood lust filled eyes who's last shreds of humanity fled long ago.

Hand still gripped tightly around the hilt of her faithful blade, Andréa listened intently as as the masked man spoke.

“had you wished it so I would have saved one for you, all that is required of you is to ask and I'll be certain to share the experience or...does her majesty has need of us again?”

Andréa's eyes flickered from the masked knight to the "man" who's arms were stretched to unnatural lengths. The thought of doing that to someone nearly made Andréa sick. Body stock still, Andréa turned her attention back to the man towering above her.

"Saved one for me? I do not believe that to be a wise choice on your behalf, Sir Batrava." Slowly and calmly Andréa turned away from the masked man and began to walk the steep steps that took her back to the warmth, laughter, and light of humanity. Halfway up the staircase Andréa turned to face him one last time. "For if you did and the higher-ups saw how efficient I was, you'd most likely be out of the job and I would be filling you're place. Now if you would excuse me, Sir Batrava, it seems I've been placed under nanny duty and I must go check on our beloved princess." And with a respectful bow Andréa walked the remaining steps and was once again in the deserted, marble corridors.

Heart still pounding at double speed, Andréa's pace quickened and she moved away from the torture chamber as quickly as possible. Images of the corpse of a man hanging in that room and the devilish grin upon the Dark Knight's mask flickered back as the Red Knight made her way through the corridors. Shaking her head, Andréa focused herself on the mission at hand: Finding the princess. Now, where has Princess Aimi wandered off to now?

Out of the corner of her eye, Andréa spotted a small movement and as she whipped her head around to find the source of the movement, found the young princess quietly heading back towards her room. "Princess Aimi, may I ask the reason for you to be venturing this far away from your room?" There was no hostility in her voice as she spoke to the wide-eyed girl, only slight concern.