The girl wandered through the icy halls of broken statues and cracked mirrors. Each shattered reflection hiding under the frosty film revealed a fleeting memory. A happier time when she wasn’t so alone.
She weaved through the sea of figures standing in the ballroom and courtyard trapped in their dance – Courtiers forever frozen in time. Bare feet stepped across the chipped marble and razor glass, slicing them to scarlet ribbons which trailed behind her in the snow.
“Forgotten,” she whispered to no one in particular. “I have been forgotten here in this place. You have gone and left me all alone.” Who had left her, she could not remember for she had been here for quite a long time now. Recollections were all but ephemeral dreams, slipping through her mind like smoke through the air.
When she came to the nursery, she paused. The dolls sat around the table starring at her, waiting. She took her seat and passed out the tea and biscuits. “Would anyone care for sugar or milk in their tea?” the girl asked. Her question held in the silence, unanswered for many long minutes. “You are hardly good company,” she said. “Don’t you know it’s rude to ignore someone who is peaking to you.”
The painted faces smiled back as if mocking the girl. “Very well,” the girl said, raising to her feet. “Have your secrets.” Without another word, she left the room and continued down the hall.
Through the twisting and turning corridors she walked, streaming a scarlet trail behind her. At last she came to a doorway. But there was no door. Just an inky darkness churning like a liquid shadow. Above the archway, a single word was carved in ice: Oblivion.
With crystal tears dripping from her eyes, the girl sighed as she stared at the word. “Anything is better than here,” she said. She looked into the blackness and stepped inside.
