The wallpaper stripping off the walls. A once vibrant regal rug ripped and stained. Many of the columns that had once been the foundations of the grand throne room, showcasing symbols of great strength and loyalty, lay fractured on their sides. The moonlight streaming in from the broken ceiling casted the only light now that the candles hadn`t been lit in over a century. The parts of the grand building that had survived felt cold as ice and were crumbling with vines. Nature was taking back its land.

The kingdom had long abandoned this giant sanctum after the general ended the war. A war that was filled to the brim with mystery. One of the many being that of the royalty that once occupied this space simply vanishing before the end of it. The council took over to create a system in which a monarch wasn`t needed. A system of the people they had called it. The castle had been collateral damage once the monarchs were gone.

People told myths that something continued to thrive in these walls. A beast guarding the grounds from intruders. Many speculated that there was something inside that it was protecting. Something that would change the kingdom should it be uncovered. All those that had gone missing upon coming here were warning enough to stay away from the property. It was forgotten in their modern world. The myths becoming children`s tales.

The elder knights had sent him here as a test of courage. At the age of 21 he was named a knight only a fortnight ago. The castle was eerie as it were, this late at night the smallest noise had him on edge. The proposed beast had yet to be spotted and he was starting to speculate it was just a tale. Some silly thing to scare him away.

A few days prior a massive storm had swept through and it surprised him that there wasn`t much water in the room. Looking to the throne it felt so empty. People of power had once sat upon it and now it looked suitable as a den of vines. His fear was quelled with sadness. A sigh left his lips in the form of hot fog. It was then that he noticed it, there was a room behind the throne.

Something almost called him to move his feet quickly. Later one could call it instinct. He moved the half-fallen curtain aside and pushed the metal door in with all his might. Inside he couldn`t believe his eyes. Was the light playing tricks on him?

Or was there a young woman chained to the ground by her limbs.