When sensation finally returned to your legs and you dried your jeans and socks to the best that you could, you began to make your trek to the theater. As you wandered through the corridors, your body ached terribly with each step feeling like a needle was being driven into the soles of your feet.
Maybe I should have stayed back in the dining room a little bit longer and rested up. You sighed and bit back your discomfort as you trudged onwards.
You stopped when you noticed you saw something flash from the corner of your eye. Whipping your head, you noticed a statue of Corvin holding a short sword a few feet behind you. Its lips were stretched in a malicious smirk, looking as if it was about to come to life at any moment.
A chill ran down your back and you walked a little bit faster, not wanting to be near it any longer. You made your way out of the left side of the mansion and began to walk towards the right side of it. The discomfort in your feet was starting to become nearly unbearable. You shook your head and sat down on a nearby chaise lounge, sucking in a deep breath and dropped your shoulders.
Just relax here for a minute or two, before one of those things appear again. You froze up for a moment before shaking your head. You closed your eyes and put your head in your hand as you waited for the throbbing pain in your feet to subside.
If he hid the key in the theater, that's a pretty ballsy move on his part to put it somewhere so upfront. You pressed your lips in a tight line. When the pain was gone, you stood up and continued on your way to the theater. After walking down a few more corridors and taking a couple of turns, you finally reached the theater's doors.
The doors were a glossy black with the comedy and tragedy masks hanging above it as giant light bulbs flashed yellow light on and off, in front of the doors was a bright red mat. On either side of the doors were 19th-century styled posters of famous performances such as Midsummer's Night Dream, Giselle, and the most fitting of all to your situation, Faust.
You rolled your eyes and shook your head in disbelief. I will say that he has a good sense of irony.
As you came closer to the doors, a powerful dread shot through your stomach and paralyzed you. It felt as your innards was stabbed with thousands of frozen knives, twisting themselves deeper. You clutched your stomach and coughed violently.
You shook your head and squeezed your bicep hard. Get it together! This is just him playing tricks!
Taking a deep breath, you tried to push aside crippling fear welling up as you approached the door. Your hand trembled as you put the emblem into the indentation on the door. With a soft click, the doors slowly swung open to reveal the dimly lit theater.
The theater was massive and grand: rows upon rows of red seats facing the stage ahead and easily housing at least two hundred audience members. Sitting in the seats were shadowy figures that flickered and spoke to each other in hushed whispers. Up ahead the dark crimson velvet curtains were drawn closed, concealing the performance behind it.
Each step you took, made your dread worse. You knew there was something awful lurking behind those curtains: waiting impatiently to rip you apart before you could scream, leaving you a bloodied and broken mess of organs and bones. However, you had no other choice but to press forward. This was the only way out of the nightmare.
Your hand reached for the knife in your bag. At least you weren't going in completely defenseless. Your grip tightened as you approached the stage, now it was only a few feet away from you.
I think I may have seen this in a movie once. You laughed softly to yourself and shook your head, bracing yourself for whatever was behind the heavy drapes.
With knife in hand, you inched closer to the curtain's rope. Your heart was rapidly pounding like a rabid animal and cold sweat trickled down your neck as your fingers came closer and closer to the golden cord.
Your fingers wrapped around the cord and with a quick tug, the curtains drew away to reveal an abandoned puppet show. There was a total of five puppets, all of them were as tall as you. One of them was a servant girl with straggly hair dressed in rags. Another was a dashing nobleman with neat brown hair dressed in a green suit. The next puppet was an old woman with a gnarled face in a gaudy dress of yellow and green. Next to the old woman was a puppet girl with garishly applied makeup and equally tacky dress in purple and orange. Finally, was the puppet in the middle which caught your eye the most: as it resembled Corvin with neatly brushed white hair and spotless red suit.
The lights suddenly turned on, blinding you for a moment. In the harsh yellowish-white lighting, you could see that their skins were a horrific texture of both wood and flesh. Although you wanted to turn and run, a combination of both terror and morbid curiosity made you stay in your place as the play began.
A sharp chord of an unseen violin made you jump as a phantom orchestra started to play, getting the attention of the shadowy audience. The Corvin puppet stood up from its chair and lazily walked towards the front of the stage. He cleared his throat and tapped his cane three times.
"Once upon a time, there was a girl who was sent to live with her only living relatives after her parents died. Unfortunately for her, they were her lazy and greedy aunt and equally vile daughter. The poor girl was forced from dawn 'til dusk to work to the bone as her relatives berated and beat her. Each day, she prayed that the handsome marquis would fall in love and marry her like in the fairytales that her deceased mother and father would tell her at bedtime," the puppet said and stepped to the side as the lights turned to the old woman and her niece.
"You little rat!" The old woman puppet screamed at the unkempt maid and hit over the head with a broomstick. "You can't do anything right!"
"Why even bother keeping her at this point?" The cousin cackled as she put a lacy fan over her mouth, only showing her cruel and heavily shadowed eyes.
"Because then we'd have to get a new maid," Her mother responded with an exasperated sigh and hit her niece one last time, making the maid whimper in pain.
"I say we should get a new one; preferably one that has more class than this little pig!" The other gaudily-costumed puppet sneered and kicked her cousin in the side. She squealed in laughter as the girl let out a whelp.
"You're right," her mother sighed. "I can't let a beautiful girl like you be embarrassed with potential suitors seeing you next to this goblin. But until we have the funds, we have to stick with what we have at the moment."
"When will that be?" She asked.
"Hopefully soon," the old woman said and turned to the crumpled girl. "And as for you, get back to cleaning up the floors and do it perfectly: if you know what's good for you!"
With snickers, the two puppets moved towards the left, leaving the puppet girl all by herself to weep quietly. The fairy puppet approached the girl and cleared his throat. She snapped her head up towards him, her bulbous eyes were shining with curiosity.
"It looks as if you may need some help," he said with his head tilted down.
"Who are you?" She asked, her voice trembling with fear and hope.
"Think of me as a...wish granter of sorts," the white-haired puppet responded. "Anything you want, I can give. Nothing is too big nor too small for me to grant."
"Then please kind sir, I beg of you to give me the life of my dreams!" The abused maid pleaded on her hands and knees towards the male puppet.
"Alright then, but there is a price to pay," the fairy said.
"I'll give anything! Just name it and it'll be yours!" The girl exclaimed.
"On the anniversary of your marriage, you are to throw a party for me," he said. "It must happen once, but it must be done within seven years."
"Of course! That isn't so hard!" She nodded her head violently, almost to the point where it looked as if it was about to pop off.
"Good. Tomorrow, I will deal with your aunt and you will find yourself to be engaged to that dashing marquis you pine for. But remember our deal." The fairy stuck out his hand.
"I accept," the peasant girl and shook the fairy's outstretched hand.
The curtains closed, before the scene changed to that of a cathedral's interior with stain glass windows and white pews. At the altar was the marquis and the puppet girl now in an elaborate silk wedding gown. The puppets said their vows and leaned their faces towards each other to simulate kissing as the unseen orchestra played a distorted tune that included a pipe organ that was loud enough to make you put your hands over your ears before becoming silent once more.
"As the years went by, the girl forgot about her promise to me." The fairy puppet continued and loudly struck his cane against the floor, the stage light turning to him. "I waited patiently, hoping that maybe one day she would remember. I even gave her a couple of friendly reminders now and then-- especially as the seven year deadline was inching closer and closer like the Grim Reaper's scythe. But alas, she never acknowledged it nor bothered to plan the party. My hand was forced, when the thirteen years passed and it came time to collect her debt. I then.... Well, let's just say some things are better left to your imagination, dear (Y/N)."
Suddenly the puppets all jerked their heads towards you. Their glassy, crazed eyes were focused on you. Their teeth bared as a black froth drippled from them like rabid animals. The puppets cackled and outstretched their hands towards you, except for the one modeled after Corvin who simply watched with malicious glee as sat down on his chair.
The nearest one, the aunt, jumped for you. You screamed and twisted away in time to avoid its hands. Behind you, the crowd was cheering at the performance. As the old woman was about to grab for you, you pulled out the knife and stabbed her in the head. Black sap gushed out as she screeched in pain.
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"Ha! That's what you get, you old goat!" The fairy puppet clapped.
The heavily made-up puppet crashed into you. You screamed as she clawed at your back and yelled in your ear.
"I'll turn your blood into rouge!" The cousin puppet cackled and wildly reached for your face.
"Aw, don't give up now!" The Corvin puppet snickered.
You arched your back and turned around, pinning the puppet to the ground. You grabbed her hair and smashed her head into the ground, splinters of her face flew upwards as you pounded her face into the ground again. The marquis puppet approached you and you turned in time to avoid his outstretched hands. You swung your knife at his face-- slashing his cheek. Black sap jetted out and he squealed, clutching a hand to where he'd been struck.
"How dare you disfigure my husband's face!" The bride puppet screamed and lunged at you.
You grabbed a hold of her veil and stabbed her hand. She wailed and held her hand to her chest. She roared and made another grab for you. You grabbed a hold of her veil and stabbed the knife into her face. An animalistic scream came from her as she stumbled backwards.
You looked to see the rope that held the stage light on the other side of the theater. You shrieked as the marquis puppet swiped for your face and you kicked him in the stomach. The puppet flew into his bride and they both tumbled off the stage. The audience's cheering became louder, their jeering boomed off of the walls.
"My, talk about a performance!" The white-haired puppet grinned as he stood up, revealing a large knife in his hand that glinted menacingly in the the light. "The audience loves you, (Y/N)!"
You swerved away in time to avoid his blade. Sweat trailed down your face and you swiped your legs against his knees, making him stumble backwards. The puppet laughed and stood up as he brushed the front of his coat.
"Talk about a spitfire!" He giggled, the knife still shining in his hand. "But let's see how you hold up against the supporting cast!"
With that, the fallen puppets began to rise and started to limp behind their leader. Their glassy eyes were shinning with bloodlust and gnashed their teeth in excitement, reminding you of a shark that smelled blood.
You ran towards the rope and began to cut at it with your knife. Your hands trembled as the blade sawed through the thick rope. The puppets were coming closer, savoring every bit of your terror. Their rictus grins growing tighter and wider, making tears in their cheeks as black sap bled from them.
Come on! Come the fuck on! Hurry!
As they were about to finally lunge at you, the rope was finally severed. You flinched and jumped back as the light crashed down on them. You put your arms in front of you as shards of glass exploded into the air. The puppets let out one last gasp before they collapsed.
You took a shaking sigh and held the knife tighter in your hand as you put a hand over your racing heart. That was way too close.
You tossed one last look at the crushed throng of puppets before looking back at the theater's exit. As you were about to step off the stage, a hand rised from the light. The mangled body of the Corvin puppet crawled out. He calmly twisted his head back in place and approached you, his red and gold eyes glowing with fury.
"You little bitch," it growled. "Look what you did to me!"
You scrambled away from it and towards the catwalk. Behind you the puppet let out a screech as it lurched at you. You ducked your legs away in time to avoid him. The puppet slashed his knife in the air, nearly nicking your shins.
"You aren't going anywhere, my dear! The audience wants to give an encore to the star of the show!" The puppet cackled as you scrambled up the catwalk stairs.
You were barely two steps in before a pained scream ripped out of your throat as the knife sliced against your calf. You fell to your knees, nearly knocking your head against the steps. Blood trickled down as you hand put your hand over it to stop the bleeding. Your fingers were smeared red as you limped away from the puppet.
"Go ahead and run, my dear!" It giggled and pointed the knife at you, "You're just going to be delaying your inevitable death!"
You wheezed in pain as you scrambled as quickly up the catwalk. Your wound throbbed in pain and you let out a small hiss. Before you could react, the knife whizzed over your shoulder-- narrowly missing your cheek. The puppet kicked you in the back of your leg. You turned around only to be met with a swift punch to the face. You gasped in pain as another blow cracked through your cheek.
Despite the pain, you swung your knife-- blocking his attack in time. He leaned in, his teeth looking like white daggers in the dim light. You kicked the puppet in the leg, knocking his balance off before limping away. From below, the audience were loudly complaining that they couldn't see the performance.
"Come back deary, the audience loves you!" He called out and madly cackled, dragging the blade against the rails as it sent silver sparks across the metal.
You clenched your teeth as you limped, each movement made a little more blood gush out, making you whimper slightly. Come on, keep moving!
"Oh (Y/N), where are you?" It said in a singsong voice. "Don't you know: the performance isn't over until the female lead screams!"
Your head was starting to feel light from the blood loss. Your ears were ringing and you could barely feel your fingertips. Black dots started to cloud parts of your vision as you lurched away from the sadist's voice. Keep going! Don't look behind!
"Lovely little (Y/N), where could you possibly be hiding?" The puppet hummed. "Just come on out so I can rip out your innards as you choke on your blood!"
In the darkness you saw an uncovered vent, next to it was the rope that supported the catwalk. Biting back the pain, you limped over to the rope. You undid the knot that held up the catwalk and held it, with the knife pointed at it. Now you had to wait for the puppet to come.
"(Y/N), (Y/N), (Y/N)!" It called out. "Where are you, deary?"
You let out a sharp yell to lure him out. You heard the puppet's footsteps approaching you and the sound of his knife grazing the catwalk's railing.
Through your pounding head and ringing ears, you could barely make out the white-haired murderer approaching you. The blade of his blood-smeared knife glinted in the dark like a beast's fang.
"You really think I'm going to fall for your little trap, you stupid bitch?" The puppet chuckled.
"Yeah, I do." You said and let go of the rope.
The puppet charged for you with his knife in the air. You jumped into the vent in time as the catwalk crashed down, taking the puppet down with it. Quickly, you scrambled away from it and got to your knees. You winced and groped the wall for balance as your vision cleared.
You took a look around at your surroundings to see that you were in a light blue parlor. The damask furniture matched the wallpapers and an oak bookcase was pressed against the wall next to a end table. Hanging on the walls were paintings of picturesque landscapes and gardens; and a light, barely there floral perfume filled the air.
"W-what?" You gasped softly in disbelief.
The door quietly opened and Corvin entered, "(Y/N)?"
"You have a fucked up idea of entertainment," you pointed a shaking finger at him.
"You can say that about all of the fair-folk," he answered calmly. "It's all a matter of perspective, really. Didn't I also tell you that there are some very specific parts of the house where the really dangerous denizens are in?"
"Like that?" You pointed to the vent.
"Yes, although I'm surprised you've found the key for the theater." He nodded his head. "Didn't you listen to my warning?"
"You weren't very specific when you said 'you'll know it when you do'."
"Fair enough. I should have been more specific about my warning. I really apologize for that, I have no one but myself to blame for it."
You closed your eyes and let out a shallow breath, your body shaking both from the fading adrenaline and trying to constrain your rage. You closed your eyes as you clenched the knife in your hand. I'm still alive, that's all I need right now...
Corvin pressed his lips as he looked at the bruise that you sustained on your face. "Do you mind telling me what happened there?"
You fell silent. The knife in your hand clattered to the ground, you stared at him in shock with your mouth partially opened. Unable to respond to his question.
"(Y/N), what happened?"
"I-it- the puppet that looks like you..."
"What did it do?" His voice became slightly tight and he came closer to you. A strange look filled his dual-colored eyes.
"It did this and nearly tried to..."
"Take a deep breath and try to relax. Please give yourself enough time to collect your thoughts and tell me what happened."
"It tried to kill me..."
Corvin's eyes turned cold as he growled, "It did what?"
His sclera turned black, behind them was a look of barely restrained fury. Your blood turned to ice and you grabbed your wrist to stop yourself from trembling.
"Anyways, it looks like those are some rather nasty injuries you got," the fairy shook his head and his sclera turned back to white, trying to keep his anger under control. "My, those puppets were far more vicious than I remember, especially that one. I'll...discipline it when I get the chance."
You said nothing and just looked at him.
Corvin closed his eyes, "Can you sit over on that couch next to you?"
Not wanting to anger him any further, you hesitantly sat down on the couch. Every muscle in your body was tensed with dread and your palms turned sweaty. Your eyes were trained on the fairy as he pulled up your pant sleeve to look at the wound on your calf.
"I am going to..." he stopped himself when he remembered that you were still here and deeply exhaled. "Anyways, stay still and relax a little."
"W-why should I?" You asked.
"Just please trust me on this," he put a hand over yours.
You gave him a hard look, but said nothing; unsure of what he would do next. He nodded his head and stood up.
Corvin walked over to the ivory and brass globe in the corner and pulled off the top to reveal a large tin of salve. You watched as he gently rubbed the medicine into your wounds, paying extra attention to the cut on your leg. Within the seconds, the injuries started to fade away as if they never happened.
You put your hand over where your wounds once were, and looked up at Corvin. Why did he do this? Wouldn't it be better for him to just leave me injured?
"Now that you know when you're in certain areas of the mansion and you suddenly have the kind of dread that paralyzes you, you'll know to avoid that area." Corvin said. "Again, I deeply apologize for what happened. If you'll excuse me, I have someone to straighten out."
"Hey! Wait a minute!" You stood up and collapsed back into the couch from the sudden rush of blood. You winced in pain and put a hand to your forehead, clenching your eyes.
"Just rest for a little while, I'll make sure nothing comes in here as you do so," he said without sparing a second glance at you and left.
You sighed and put a hand over your forehead. A pounding sensation beat against your head and you slowly sank down onto the sofa. When the sensation subsided, you stood up, grabbed your fallen knife, and opened the parlor door.
The moment you stepped outside, the urge to go left overcame you. You followed the impulse and quickly walked down the corridor. After five or so minutes, you found yourself in front of the theater once more with Corvin staring down at the doors. You watched as he entered and approached the stage, where the mangled puppet that resembled him was sitting and smoking a cigar as it mumbled under its breath. You turned away and fastened your pace. Not bothering to turn your head towards it, even when you heard a blood-curdling scream coming from the theater.