It is a sad day indeed to say goodbye to anyone. To our beloved Evelyn Ashe and Sade, may your deaths be meaningful within your own stories. Or the lives, if you decide to keep writing elsewhere on this. Thank you for your participation.

Without further ado, let's move on to our second-to-last task.

***

Two days pass in wretched sound--the chiming of clocks, footsteps down halls, of hushed words spoken outside the King's Chamber. Each maid has a story and each guard has another. Then there are the advisors who waltz their way through, in and out and in and out and in and out, and oh but the noise that surrounds it all is enough to drive one wild if they'd let it. The air is thick enough to be cut by the lips of all who dare to speak again, their teeth sharp as nails and their vocal cords as nasally as ever.

If he could, he'd scream until his voice was hoarse. He'd utter a thousand curses upon all who dared to speak to him, to bother him, to walk right in just as he'd gotten a sense of peace and break it. Perhaps that is, in some ways, all he deserved. A broken peace. A lifetime spent in the light, the sound, away from the dark quiet he longed for.

That is, after all, part of the curse she'd left upon him.

It was her voice that drove him to the brink. Her voice was louder than every boisterous guard's laughter. Her voice was as shrill as the birds outside, singing loud and louder and oh dear god she was worse than a mockingbird.

"I'll take what it is you want the most and safeguard it with everything you've ever been afraid of. Oh, you coward, you'll never dare to step foot down there. Not with the snakes larger than yourself, the ancient dragons wiser than you'll ever be, with the twisted shadows and plumes of smoke that drive one mad. You'd die before you ever reached the center of my labyrinth. Dearest Charles," she'd spoken, her voice growing gentle and sweet towards the end. She'd reached out and grasped his chin in her hand. "I'll trap the soul of your lover in the center of it all. And perhaps, if you're brave enough, you'll get to watch him die."

The night was cold.

***

It is cold indeed down in the dungeons! Hope you've brought a jacket.

For this challenge, we've bested the old guardians. All that remains are the last two scrolls--both of which will be found this entry. These will be locked inside a room filled with dark smoke that, upon breathing, will make your wildest fears come true. (Is it just tricking your mind? Is it truly making horrid things happen? That's up to you!) You'll have to find a way to get through the smoke, get the last two scrolls, and end your entry by reaching the very center of the dungeon. You can end it at the door to the center room, which should be something marvelous and important looking. Or I guess super plain if that's what you want to go with.

Ballot Challenges and Challengers:

Odette Rainmaker, Kenna Ashfyre, and Zhang Jindi

Sadly, someone wanted y'all to lose some words. Each of you lost a solid 750 words from your entry capabilities. So you can reach 5K but not a single word over without losing a solid point. I'm watching y'all. However, if you happened to have read each and every entry up until now and left comments as they occurred, you do have your special "Ballot Point" that you can use. This will basically negate a point being removed.

If you've gone through and read during each and every task and left your comments up until now, you can also use your ballot point to negate any previous points lost due to ballot challenges. This won't affect anything more than the overall ranking, but it might be something y'all would want.

Word Count: 5,750 MAX

Due Date: Thursday, May 11th at 8 PM CDT.
6PM PDT, 7PM MDT, 8PM CDT, 9PM EDT.

Use your time wisely. Every late entry from here on out loses 3 points per hour late. You may still ask for an extension, but it will need to be an important situation for this to be granted.