Awake In a Grave
by jachilli
Yaros… Yaros…
The sound of someone plaintively calling your name — distant, no louder than a whisper — interrupts your mortal sleep. A moment of panic strikes you. You know that voice! It is your cousin and betrothed, Aysel, the Lady of Winters and heiress to Castle Marchemoor. Where is she? And why does she sound like she’s in distress?
What is this place? It is a tomb — your tomb! Deep beneath the lonely halls of the Castle of Ash and Shadow, this is your family mausoleum. You come here from time to time to think about your future, to write poems and touch the family crests. The gray marble of the sepulchers and the cold flame of the tallow candles offer you a dolorous peace…
…It’s coming back to you. Dinner with Aysel and Lord Eliphas. Too much hypokras. The three of you kept drinking into the night. A nacreous moon. Eliphas’s eyes became orbs of deepest black and he bared his teeth. Aysel screamed. Your hand went to your rapier, but something came in from the window although the window was closed. From then, you don’t remember.
Eliphas!
The first thing to do is get out of here, to flee your grave.
