#05.
1178 Words
Adriana woke slowly, her senses returning in quiet layers.
For a moment, she didn’t move.
Didn’t open her eyes.
Didn’t breathe too deeply.
Because everything felt… different.
The air was softer. The silence was heavier. The bed beneath her was far too comfortable to belong to any place she’d ever known.
Her brows furrowed slightly, eyes half-lidded as she adjusted to the soft light filtering through the curtains.
The room was elegant, neat, smooth, faintly adorned with subtle designs that caught the morning light filtering in through tall windows. The curtains swayed gently, letting in a golden glow that warmed the entire room.
Adriana blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then she pushed herself up, her movements slow, cautious, like the room might vanish if she moved too quickly.
“Okay…” she muttered under her breath, her voice rough with sleep.
This definitely wasn’t a dream.
Her gaze drifted around the room, taking everything in properly this time. She hadn’t noticed any of it the night before, she must have been too exhausted.
The room was simply… beautiful.
Her gaze drifted over the entire room taking in details she hadn’t paid attention to before. It was so overwhelming. Very different from everything she was used to.
Her fingers brushed over the sheets as she shifted slightly, exhaling softly.
Soft
A faint crease touched her brows, she couldn’t quite place the moment she’d drifted off the night before… or how she’d ended up properly tucked in but she didn’t dwell on it.
Instead, she swings her legs over the side of the bed.
The floor was cool beneath her feet.
Grounding. That's good. She thought.
She stood, stretching out the stiffness in her shoulders before heading toward the bathroom. She suddenly stopped, glancing around like she was afraid someone would suddenly tell her she didn’t belong here.
No one did.
Of course.
She mentally hit herself over the head, making her way into the bathroom. She had seen it the night before, but like everything else, she hadn’t really seen it.
Now she did.
Clean lines. Wide mirror. Everything arranged with precision. For a second, Adriana just stood there, taking it all in.
Then she shook herself out of it.
“Don’t get used to it,” she muttered, though there was no real bite behind the words.
She stepped inside, her reflection meeting her immediately. She studied it for a second before turning on the tap.
She freshened up quickly, the cool water helping to clear the last remnants of sleep from her mind. By the time she was done, she felt more like herself; grounded, alert, ready to face whatever this place had to throw at her.
She went back into the bedroom, her lips pressed together faintly, heading straight for the closet she pulled out and pulled on her black tank top, jeans and her favorite and only leather jacket before slipping on her black ankle boots. In a few smooth movements, she pulled her hair into a ponytail, securing it neatly.
A quick glance in the mirror and she was out of the room.
Adriana stepped out into the hallway and slowed almost immediately.
Her eyes moved left.
Then right.
Everything looked the same.
Same walls. Same doors. Same spacing. No clear distinction between one turn and the next.
Not knowing which way they came from the night before, she chose a direction and started walking. And walking
And Walking.
She turned.
Walked again for a bit.
Another turn.
At this point, she paused.
Her gaze narrowed slightly as she looked around.
“…Right,” she muttered under her breath.
Lost.
She turned back, attempting to retrace her steps….
And walked straight into someone.
The contact was firm enough to stop her, but she didn’t stumble far. A steady hand caught her arm, keeping her balanced.
“Careful there, angel.”
Adriana looked up.
Her gaze met his, holding it for a brief second, at first she was startled, flustered, lost in his hypnotizing blue eyes.
But she suddenly called herself back from the edge, stepped back smoothly, freeing her arm.
“Sorry,” she said evenly. “Wasn’t paying attention.”
His eyes moved over her once, quick and assessing, something flickered in his expression… subtle, but there.
“So it seems.” he replied calmly.
Adriana exhaled lightly through her nose. “These hallways all look the same.”
A slight pause.
“You’re lost.”
She didn’t deny it. “I’m Adriana, just visiting for the wedding and now trying to locate the bride, Juliette.”
“I’ll take you,” he said.
She gave a small nod. “Oh.. thanks.”
He turned without waiting, and she followed.
They both walked in silence, his steps measured, hers matching with little effort. Adriana paid closer attention this time; counting turns, noting small details but the place still felt deliberately confusing.
Eventually, he stopped in front of large double doors.
“This is the dining hall.”
Before she could respond, he pushed them open.
Sound spilled out… voices, movement, the low hum of conversation. Then it stopped. Completely. The moment Adriana stepped inside, silence settled over the room.
Every head had turned.
Every single one.
Her posture remained unchanged, but there was a quiet stillness to her now, a sharpened awareness as she took in the scene. All guests for the wedding, she assumed.
A long table stretched across the room, filled with people eating breakfast. No
Not breakfast.
Not anything she’d call normal. More like a feast, yet it all seemed normal, like everybody was casually having their morning meal.
Her gaze moved across the faces watching her, not lingering too long on any one of them.
A quiet clearing of a throat beside her brought her attention back to Killian.
The shift was immediate.
Conversations resumed. Attention broke. The room carried on as if the moment hadn’t happened.
Adriana let out a soft breath.
“…Great,” she murmured under her breath.
Killian moved forward while she followed.
Juliette spotted her almost instantly.
“Adriana.”
There was something warm in the way she said it.
Adriana’s expression eased, just slightly, as she made her way over and took the seat beside her.
“Morning,” she said.
“Morning,” Juliette replied, her eyes briefly scanning her, as if checking in without asking outright.
Adriana leaned a little closer. “You didn’t mention the audience,” she said quietly.
Juliette’s lips curved faintly. “Nothing you couldn't handle.”
Adriana didn’t comment on that. She reached for the glass in front of her instead, her attention drifting briefly across the table again.
Killian took a seat at the head of the table.
It suited him.
The chair beside him, empty. Like it was specifically reserved.
Her gaze lingered for the briefest moment before she looked away, her expression unchanged.
She settled back slightly in her seat, her attention returning to Juliette and the unfamiliar rhythm of the room around her; watching, listening, taking it all in without saying much at all.
- Writer
