The iron gate closed behind me as I walked inside the property of the victorian mansion. It's gothic aesthetics truly shines true from up close. So much so, one cannot help but wonder how rich you would have to be to actually have something like this outside a dream.
My boots...wait, when did I put on boots? I said and wonder to myself, but then and again, not much logic is needed to be had once inside a dream.
But they clicked against the marble floor as I stepped into the mansion. The air inside was… warm, and the smell of scented candles hit my nose. This place smelled extremely nice, the fragrance clearly suggested that this place was well taken care of.
I was fully awake now.
My mind was not stuck in a dream haze, nor did I had any floating sensations. I had all the control in the world over my body...my hands, my steps, even the cautious way my eyes scanned the grand place I found myself in. And yet, I moved forward without hesitation knowing damn well I might be in danger.
Yet I do so only because of how enchanted the voice of the woman who beckon my presence was.
I was like a willing fly that graciously walks towards the spider's web. Yet despite the potential danger... Deep down I feel a sense of safety in this place.
But what was more shocking was how calm I feel at this moment.
It wasn't like a command that compelled me to move forward.
No compulsion.
No spell.
Just...something in the way she spoke pulled at me. Like being serenaded by the ghost of a love one who called out to you from beyond for one last discussion before they pass on.
"You are close… I'm waiting in the office Theodore."
Her voice echoed into my mind once more as walked towards it.
Her instructions guide me ever so closer.
Soon I passed through a massive foyer, the chandelier above me sagging under its own weight, crystals dulled with time glimmer above me. Portraits lined the walls, showing the noble taste of the collector artistic preference.
But as I walk forward quickly approaching my destination I soon see a large staircase before me.
My fingers brushed against the curve of the stair banister, and again the voice echoed in my mind.
"Up the stairs. Keep going."
It ordered.
And I followed.
Each step creaked as I traverse up the fancy stairs as I climbed slowly, scanning every floor I passed.
First floor.
Second floor.
And finally Third floor.
"Good you are on the correct floor... I am not too far off."
The voice said again, this time however my curiosity got the better of me as I tried to reach out to it and asked.
"Um…Who are you?"
I asked out loud.
However I was rewarded with not even a single answer.
Just a familiar silence that weighed on me, filling me with unease as I get closer to the source, and weirdly enough I wasn't afraid. I should''e been, but all I felt was… anticipation... And overall curiosity.
At the top of the stairs, the hallway stretched out like the spine of some great beast. The walls were a deep wine red, lined with wall sconces flickering with pale, blue fire. Carpet thick enough to swallow your feet. And a pressure behind my sternum, urging me on.
"To your left child… Down the hall... Until the very end."
With those words I obeyed.
I walked past countless doors...mahogany, iron-bound, even one with what looked like scratch marks. None of them called to me. None of them mattered. Until I reached the final door at the dead end.
The very last door you can say in this grand hall.
It was black, with a gold nameplate hammered dead center:
Traumerei
That was the name plastered on the door nameplate in gold.
And as he stands before it I heard the voice of the woman this time not in my head but from behind the door.
"Come in Theodore we have much to discuss."
I turned the handle and pushed the door open. The air that rushed out was thick with the scent of incense, sweet, burning, with hints of sandalwood and something else in the mix but I could not tell what it was although it felt oddly nostalgic.
Inside, the room was lit in a dim red glow. The walls were draped in heavy, dark velvet, thick enough to swallow any signs of light. The furniture was elegant, yet somehow… unsettling. A massive gothic desk sat against the far wall, its surface made of some dark wood that gleamed with a polished, glass-like sheen.
The edges were carved into beautiful but dark themed patterns of swirling tendrils and skulls, like something pulled straight out of a Cthulhu decorations log. Heavy, ornate bookshelves lined the walls, filled with leather-bound tomes, there contents unknown.
The only thing that didn't belong in this dark, suffocating space was the sheer perfection of the lighting...the warm, sultry red flickered from hidden lamps beneath the furniture, casting long, stretching shadows, but it set the whole gothic victorian vibes all too well.
But what truly struck me was the desk.
It was grand...too grand for someone who might be sitting here to simply write or read. Behind it, there was a high-backed chair, made from what seemed to be black and crimson rose wood, but the glimmering covering embroidered in rich gold thread.
On the desk itself, an assortment of old papers was scattered, meanwhile a small candle burned softly to the right of the desk.
And there, standing before the desk as though waiting for me, was her.
Her eyes were alot like mines golden in color.
They glowed faintly, glistering shimmer shining through the dim red like twin stars. Her skin was flawless, pale but not sickly so.
She stood to atleast five foot seven, her black dress fitting her figure in all the right places...tight enough to define her curves, but not too tight to over sexualized her grace.
The dress was simple and elegant in design as it billowed out slightly at the waist. Meanwhile her deep dark crimson red. Looking at her from where I stand, she look no older than twenty six maybe twenty eight.
She looked at me with a knowing gaze, as though she had been waiting for me for a long time. And in that moment, I realized just how much of a stranger I truly was here, even in a place that felt oddly familiar for some reason.
For a while neither of us spoke. I didn't move, as my body remain still I'm awe and in fear for some reason I could not explain... as such I was rooted in place by the sheer presence she exuded.
And then she smiled at me, looking me down from head-to-toe as she said
"We finally meet, Mr. William."