It was the best dinner you've ever had.

And besides the delicious food, the company was also quite lovely. You didn't even remember the last time you had dinner with someone other than your father, if there ever was. And they also had not much contact with humans, it seemed.

However, you couldn't help but ask why they were so kind to you. In fact, why they were still in that castle and never tried to escape. For a few seconds the dining room fell silent, but your question had an answer.

The answer was simple, coming from Wanda, "our lady is not as bad as you think."

And from the expressions of others, it really seemed to be genuine, so you let that matter go so you could continue with a lighter conversation, not wanting to push them.

Yes, the night had been very pleasant and maybe you could stay until morning. In any case, it would be foolish to try to go out into the dark through an unknown forest.

After wishing everyone a good night, you retired to sleep. It was late and you didn't want to risk the beast finding out that you had dined against her will.

This time, no one accompanied you back, trusting that you would remember where your room was. And you remembered, in fact.

But as you went up the stairs that split between the west wing and the east wing, you wondered again what could be so secret about the west wing and your curiosity overcame your common sense.

Not so different from the east wing, the corridor leading to a large, ornate door was covered in dust and, if it weren't for the windows, it would be covered in complete darkness as well.

But when you opened the door, you came across something quite different than you expected. Although you don't know what exactly you expected.

It was still different.

The room once seemed to have been the most imposing in the house, but now it was destroyed. Torn curtains, debris on the floor, some broken furniture. A large painting adorned the wall and in it you could see two people, a woman and a little girl with blue eyes who shared the same features. And also the same tears on the screen, crossing their faces. It was an unsettling sight, so you decided to look around a little more.

The place would look completely abandoned if it weren't for the candles that lit the place, but it didn't seem reason enough to be a forbidden wing.

Until your eyes focused on a distant table, placed in the center of the balcony. Slowly you approached, forgetting for a moment where you were, focusing all your attention on the rose that was levitating under a dome.

Now that was intriguing.

You reached out, almost touching the glass when a sudden wind hit you, giving the first sign that you were not alone. And then a scream lifted you out of your trance.

"What are you doing here?! What have you done to it?!" Your ears rang and your pulse raced wildly, not only from the shock but also from being caught. The owner of the castle looked at you with a murderous look, freezing your blood. This time you had screwed up. Big time.

Still, you shook your head, "I didn't do anything, I-"

"Do you have any idea what you could have done?! You could have condemned everyone!" She towered over you, and for an instant you thought it would be the end of you when the candle flames grew and one of the wooden furniture exploded on its own, but she turned to the rose and then sighed, "get out of here, NOW!" She screamed one last time, making a curtain catch fire.

Even before she finished screaming, you were running, still fearing for your life. That one had been close and you wouldn't give yet another chance to end up dead in that cursed castle.

If you had looked back for a moment, you would have seen Agatha's pained and regretful look, but instead you kept running down the hall, down the stairs without delay.

And then everything became a blur, Jimmy screaming "where are you going?!" and your rushed response, Mrs. Wanda shouting that it was not safe outside, the metal of the doorknob in your hand and then the cold wind hitting your face, barely noticed in the heat of the adrenaline.

Jarvis was still in the garden, running towards you as if he felt something was wrong. Soon the two of you had gone out through the gates, leaving the castle behind, but not all the dangers were behind.

Quite the opposite, actually.