Word Count: 1687

~Millicent

I can't let Sinful's appearance get to me.

His letter sits on the table in front of me. It's still folded up, curiosity bubbling up within in me, my twitching fingers begging to pick it up and read what written. His visit here has left me breathless, still, hours after he has left. His presence still lingers in the air, a tingling feeling still existing on the surface of my skin.

My gaze flickers up to the fireplace that crackles up against wall, before it falls on the letter again. Should I burn it? If I burn it, then it will be vanished forever, and the words he wrote upon it will be haunting me for who knows how long.

Picking it up, I slip it back into my pocket, where it is once again, concealed from my sight. Right now, I have more important matters to deal with.

I need to get on the other side of that wall.

I'm not sure what I'm expecting to find, but as I wander back to my bed, I let my imagination run wild, considering all options.

The favourite that swings through my mind, is the idea that a physical manifestation of the Moon exists beyond that wall. Or maybe, there's a hoard of riches, or a library with the answers to all of life's biggest mysteries remain within it. All these seem delectable, but the most intriguing, is the idea of a person like Moon.

What would they be like? Surely they would be as poisonous as the Moon that controls my life here. Surely they would terrorise me to no end, no matter what physical appearance they take on. Maybe I shouldn't uncover this then.

But if I have any chance of escaping, I need to expose it.

I don't put a single step out of line the next morning. I'm retrieved by my escorts and taken to the Temple for my morning ritual, before taken to lunch. Thankfully, nothing disturbs my lunch. No blood, no horrific consequence. Maybe Sinful was successful in his visit. I just don't understand how that could be...

Lucy seems indifferent to it all, almost like she is distracted. On a normal day, I would ask her about it, but today, she can keep her secrets.

Just like I'm going to keep mine.

As per usual, the library is empty, giving me the perfect amount of time to wander around, plucking books off the shelves listening intently to the sounds that come from the other side of the wall. Unnervingly, it sounds like music.

I've accepted the fact that maybe, this is all for nothing.

For all I know, behind the wall, there could be nothing. Maybe it's the guards and see ants quarters and I'm just being too curious for my own good. The Moon likes leaving me wondering, leaving curious at all times. That keeps me from my main objective, which is not only escaping, but taking everything down with me.

Setting down my pile of books I have no interested in on the table, I sit back to think. Before Sinful interrupted me, I had noticed a book that seemed off. Now I can't seem to find it. It's almost like it's been taken away.

I'm so used to this room being dead quiet, that the moment I hear the sound of a page turning behind a nearby stack, my entire body freezes.

Does anybody else want to sneak up on me in here.

Bristling, I consider my approach. There's not many people it could be. If it's Sinful again, I'm not going to be happy. I thought, despite his warning, that I got my point through to him quite well. He is to leave me alone now. Right?

Sneaking around the stack, I peak around to see who is reading in here at this time of the day, since all the years I've been here, I've known no one to have time to be in here right now. I half expected to look around and not see anyone, chalking it up to paranoia, but instead, I do see someone standing there, leaning against the shelves, reading.

I've never seen him in my life. I would like to think I know of every soul that walks his manor, aside from the prisoners.

Clearly now, I'm wrong, I suppose.

He doesn't notice me, right away. By the looks of it, he is so deep in his reading, that I could walk right past and he would be oblivious. By the looks of him, he might be a prisoner, by how normal he comes across. I don't know how he would have escaped though, if that were the case.

He wears completely silk clothes that are black as night. They contrast to his light, golden coloured hair, which frames his head like a halo. It's shaggy, curly, looking boyish and juvenile. Who in the world is this boy?

"They say, curiosity kills the cat, you know," he comments, the sound of his voice making me flinch. My first reaction was to hide, but he clearly knows I'm here.

He looks up at me, and I'm strike by how he looks immediately.

His entire eye, irises and all, are a milky white colour.

"Don't be scared, I don't bite," he comments, flipping his book closed before tucking it under his arm. I'm so disgusted I can hardly move.

"Who are you?" I question, wishing my voice wouldn't quiver. I've never seen someone with eyes so frightening. I can't even tell if he is fully focusing on me, and the more I stare into those white eyes, the most nauseas I feel.

He takes a step toward me, and I can't help but take a stumbling step backward. I'm not sure where he came from, but it's like he has just stepped out of my worst nightmare. Maybe I am dreaming, and he was created by the Moon to frighten me. That must be what he is here for. That means I need to get away as soon as possible.

"I'm Kyser. Or that's my mortal name at least. And you're Millicent. It's nice to see you," he says, sticking his hand out, as if he thinks it's plausible I'm even going to touch him.

"Where did you come from?" I question.

"I come from the other side of that wall, where the Moon keeps all his dirty secrets," he tells me, brushing past me. His shoulder touches me, making me shiver, flinching away. Until I know what he is going here, I don't particularly want him near me.

I knew something was on the other side of the wall. Nervously, I follow Kyser around the stacks, as he falls into the sitting area, right where I usually sit.

"What are you doing here?" I question.

"Just thought I would catch up on some light reading. I mean, after you've read all that has to be offered on the other side of that wall, what might be on offer here really strikes your interest," he says. I can tell by the way he speaks, that that isn't the complete truth. He's here for me, I know it.

Usually, when I know someone is trying to get close to me, I avoid them at all cost. For example, Micah, the Virtue Humility lives upon the Moon also, but we keep our distance. Any time we cross the line between each, something bad happens.

"Are you The Moon?" I ask him. It's not a completely absurd question. Many assume there is a mortal like embodiment of his power.

Kyser laughs. "I wish. No, I'm just a kid who works for him."

I should leave, right now. Contacting anyone close to the Moon is dangerous right now, when I don't have a plan of approach ready. Turning on my heels, I make a walk toward the exit, but Kyser skips ahead of me, blocking me into the reading area. It's completely possible to push him out of the way, but we both know I'm not about to risk that.

"I know your mate visited yesterday," he says, that grin on his face feline, full of mischief. It suits those sharp features of his. "Don't worry, your secrets safe with me."

"What do you want?" I ask. He must have a motive.

He shrugs. "I got everything I wanted from your mate, since I'm the one who got him in here. I just thought I would come here and introduce myself. The Moon is making big changes to this place, and I assumed you would want to be on my good side."

My heart almost comes to a complete stop. Looking into this milky eyes, I don't see anything behind. He's like an empty shell staring back at me, tricking me. Someone is behind those eyes, and it isn't that characteristic Kyser I've been introduced to. Whoever it is, I'm not going to let them get the best of me.

"What do you want me to do, then," I ask him.

He shrugs, once again, before he turns, walking back to the shelf I've been investigating for the last hour or two. He slips the book he had been reading into the slot, before looking back at me.

"Maybe we can talk later. Come find me," he comments, before he walks behind one of the stacks, and vanishes.

Even as I follow him around, he's gone.

Those eyes still haunt me, as I sit down, trying to gather what is going on. It seems that even though I have my own private plans, so does everyone else.

The Moon is onto me.

Sinful's plan for my escape is further along than I assumed.

And now, Kyser has his hooks right into me.

I need help. Help from someone who is the last person I would ever go to. But I can trust him, above anyone else.

Sinful. You might just be my saving grace.

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If you're liking the story, head over to Radish, where this book is ten chapters ahead (:

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~Midika 💜🐼