To say Arabella had a fear of heights was an understatement.

And dangling from a thousand foot tall ledge from one hand while simultaneously fumbling around in her satchel for a grappling hook to climb onto a two thousand foot balcony was definitely not helping.

At this rate, she wasn't sure if she'd rather fall to death or die of a heart attack.

Breathe, just breathe...You'll be fine...Just don't look down...

The sounds of Flynn and Tuan's attack on the guards had gone strangely silent below her. Although, that might've been because they'd actually finished their part of the mission and were waiting for her to get over herself. She could just picture Flynn's mocking grin and she gritted her teeth.

After a little more searching, she felt her fingers graze cold steel and she lifted the grappling hook out. It looked like something she'd seen in her nightmares. She inhaled sharply and flung in up towards the pillars of the balcony, exhaling when she saw it hook itself around one of them.

Slowly, she grasped the end of the rope, pulling herself away from the safety of the ledge, and started to climb.

It felt like hours later when she collapsed, panting and exhausted, onto the floor of the balcony. Her palms were scraped and bloody from the thick rope. Sweat dripped from her baby hairs as she pushed herself off the ground, detaching the grappling hook in one swift movement. After shoving it into her bag, she peeked her head inside The Court.

The grand foyer of The Blood Lilies' mansion was nothing short of breathtaking. Crystal chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, casting a warm, golden glow over the spotless marble floors. A magnificent staircase curved gracefully from the floor to the upper landing, its handrails studded with diamonds. The plush, crimson-hued carpet that cascaded down the staircase, looked comfier than even her softest blanket back home. Gold-framed paintings adorned the walls, depicting scenes of lavish banquets and extravagant parties of the past. One painting housed a woman, who stared down at Arabella judgmentally, her hair laying in some mushed up pile on top of her head. Another held a man who offered a handful of flowers (lilies of course), his expression much hinting at more than just a dance and a date. The room was filled with the kind of opulence that screamed wealth and power. It made her skin crawl. The room was mostly dark, lit by a single candle and otherwise abandoned for the night.

Or not, she realized as a sleepy-eyed guard dressed in all black trudged past her. She immediately ducked back into the balcony. She heard her yawn before her footsteps grew quieter the further she got.

Desperately hoping she was gone, she urgently whispered, "I'm inside. It's...overwhelming. I can see guards patrolling. Where the hell are you?"

The earpiece only crackled in response and she dug her nails into her wrist to stop herself from breaking something. What was taking Sonora so long? Hadn't Tuan said she'd be waiting for her so they could go search the rooms together? Was she in trouble?

The earpiece quieted for a moment before she heard a buzzing. Arabellla pressed it closer to her ear, confused, until she realized that it was the muffled voice of Sonora. She almost laughed in relief and barely heard what Sonora was saying.

"Sorry, repeat that for me?"

A sigh. "I said to be quiet while coming upstairs. My sisters are all sleeping over here, I almost woke Maria up by accident."

Arabella bit her lip. "Well now, there's at least one guard blockin' that stairway, if not a heap more. What do I do with 'em?"

"Just...just take them out. But quietly if you will."

"Can I throw 'em off the balcony?" She grinned, cracking her knuckles.

"Darling, please refrain from throwing my mother's guards off of balconies. Oh my god, I need to go-" The words were cut off with another round of crackling.

"Hello?" Arabella hissed. "Hellooooo?"

Just more crackling.

She sighed and peeped out towards the grand foyer again. The guard was still there, sleep-deprived as ever. Honestly, she thought she could probably walk upstairs with alarms strapped to her head, wearing a rainbow bikini and she still wouldn't notice.

But it was better to be safe than sorry.

Reaching into her satchel again, she pulled out a finger-sized vial. It sloshed and bubbled with a clear liquid that looked almost like water. Ripping the sleeve of her catsuit off, she wet it with the substance and padded into the foyer.

The guards half-lidded eyes opened wide before rolling back into her skull while Arabella pressed the cloth against her mouth.

"Goodnight," She whispered in her ear, setting the guards head softly on the carpet.

Arabella ambled up the stairs, letting her hands glide across the diamond handrail. It was so peaceful in the mansion. The silence was practically deafening. It was odd to think that she'd be the one to break it. Finally, she reached the top floor.

"Sonora?" She murmured. "Hello?"

Silence.

"Hellooooooo?" She drawled, walking in a small circle. Halfway through her second round, she spotted the silhouette of a woman and sighed in relief when she saw Sonora's small, cat-like smile.

"Hey, what'd you do with the guard?"

"Jus' drugged her." Arabella rolled her eyes. "But it woulda been more fun to throw her off the balcony."

"Ah yes, and it would've been even more fun for my family to wake up in the morning to a bloody body on their doorstep." Sonora shot back.

"Exactly!"

She sighed, but she was still smiling. "Nevermind. We need to get into my mother's room and get the keys to the two other rooms."

"Fine, lead the way."

Arabella followed Sonora down hallway after hallway. The air was heavy with the scent of lavender and vanilla, mingling with the faint aroma of candle wax from the sconces. They moved with cautious steps, their footfalls masked by the rich rugs beneath them.

At some point, Sonora paused in front of one of the doors, and carefully turned the knob. The door swung open, revealing a lavishly decorated bedroom. The massive bed was draped in deep crimson and gold, the canopy cascading like a waterfall of luxury. A single, sleeping figure was curled up within the ocean of blankets. Her face wasn't visible in the dark, but she guessed it was the leader of the Blood Lilies herself, Pierina Caldera, Sonora's mother.

Sonora's steps were cautious as she made her way through the room. She let her fingers trail across nightstands and vanities, until she suddenly froze. Arabella's hackles rose, and she curled her hands into fists, anticipating a fight. But she saw a flash of Sonora's teeth and the soft jingle of keys as she walked back towards Arabella.

"Good job!" She whispered once they were back in the hallway.

"I don't know what my mother was thinking, leaving them out in the open like that." Sonora shrugged. "She was sort of asking for them to get stolen."

Arabella leaned on the doorframe and raised an eyebrow. "So, should we split up to check the rooms or something?"

Sonora nodded and gave her one of the bronze colored keys. "Here, I'm pretty sure this one opens the room on the far left end of the eastern hallway."

"You folks have eastern hallways?" She hissed in response, but the other girl was already disappearing around the corner. With a sigh, Arabella walked to the end of the hall, took a right to what she thought was supposed to be the 'eastern hallway' and walked for what felt like an hour before reaching the end.

The door loomed, golden and intimidating in front of her. She bit her lip, just staring in awe at it for a moment before seemingly working up the courage to open it. She heard the tumbler click softly as she turned the key in the knob. With a creak she swung the door wide open. She stepped inside and flicked the light on.

And then she screamed.

The scream echoed through the hallway, a shrill note cutting through the otherwise silent mansion. Arabella's heart pounded in her chest as she stumbled backward, gasping for breath. She had expected to find something inside the room, perhaps a guard or a hidden trap, but what she hadn't expected was...this.

The smell was what hit her first. The air stunk of rot. Like a days-dead mouse that a cat would drop at its owner's feet but, much, much worse.

Only then had she taken in the sight.

Chains dangled from the ceiling, accompanied by tools that she had no names for. A low, eerie hum filled the air, the source of which was a circle of candles surrounding a blood-stained altar at the center of the room. On the altar lay a stack of bodies, mutilated and twisted into poses that made her stomach turn. One had his neck twisted until he was looking at Arabella upside down. Blood ran down his hair and dripped into his eyes, staining the white's red. His head, which had been ripped into pieces, had fat, pink worm-like things attached to it. It took her a horrifying moment to realize they were bits of chopped up brain. Another body was smiling at her. Smiling. A strangled laugh bubbled up inside her, although nothing about this seemed humourous.

The body's head flopped across the chest of another, who lay on top of many more. Too many, she thought. Hot tears burned her cheeks as she took another step back.

"I-I need to get out..." She muttered to herself, but her eyes were locked on the scene before her.

"No, you don't." A voice behind her made her jump and she turned. It was familiar. The same one she'd heard last night...

The woman grinned as she slapped a baseball bat against her palm. "You know, I never thought I'd add a girl to my collection, much less one who's as young as you." She sighed dramatically, as if it upset her. "It's too bad. I have a feeling I would've liked you, Arabella." She spat her name out like a curse and swung the baseball bat up, ready to strike.

Arabella's last thought before darkness engulfed her, was that Sonora was nowhere near as deadly as her mother..