Ada walked forward and assessed the cavern. In the center of the hall stood a long 30 seater table, neatly covered with dishes. Enough to feed a group of 15 people, unless the group of 30 were on diet. She was drawn to the table, it was beckoning to like an old friend.
"You know I think I remembered why I don't know where we are, it's because I don't make a habit of trespassing into other's homes, and I would bet my last meal on that being what you've just had us do. And you didn't even think to knock." Aegar called her back into reality. "I didn't ask you to follow me, so don't judge my decisions" Ada snapped at the imp., annoyed and tired from the long walk. She looked back to the table, more dishes had appeared. Carcasses dripping with gravy, steaming pies, shiny salads. She felt her mouth begin to water. Behind the table sat a homely fireplace crackling merrily. Infront of it sat a large plushy armchair covered in green velvet. Her mental defenses tingled as a blue light suddenly shone from the silver balls, washing the others from her vision and filling her with a sense of calm.
"Come, my dear." A quiet voice called from the armchair. Eager to please like a young child she ran to the armchair giggling. Her short black curls bounced around her head. Around her ankles swung a green skirt embroidered on the hem with a blue forest of tree's, deer and birds. In her hand she clutched a white handkerchief with a red rabbit stitched in various thread colours.
"Ada where have you been, your hair is out it's keep and your coat is muddy?" A woman with dark brown hair that hung limp and sparse around her shoulders wheezed to Ada. Her feet were elevated on a poof and thick blankets were draped around her.
"I'm sorry mother, I was exploring the garden. I made you this, it's of a rabbit I saw. Do you like it?" The woman brushed Ada's hand away, dismissing the present.
"I do not want your useless cloths. Is that where you were when I died, exploring the garden?"
The life fell away from Ada's mother, her skin became darker and rotted away, her eyes turned milky then sank into her skull until maggots poured fourth out of them. Ada jumped and moved backwards. Her mother, reached out a hand, and a chunk of flesh fell to the floor where it turned to dusk and a pile of beetles that scuttled away from the light of the fire. That gave Ada an idea, she darted to the fire and ripped out a long burning log and held it out to her mother.
"Now now Ada, don't threaten your mother." Her mother placed her hand on the arm of the chair and shifted her other hand out from the blankets and used the arm of the chair to push herself out the chair. Blankets fell off her into a pile on the ground, that turned into several grey snakes and slithered under the chair. Her legs were mere bones, stripped clean of all flesh. "Stay away from me, ghoul!" Ada threatened, holding the log with both hands. Her hands violently shook unsettling orange sparks that fell to the ground.
"Ada, I am not coming towards you, you are coming towards me." The corpse held out it's rotten hand to her "I would not harm my own child, why do you want to harm me. Put away the log." Obediently she dropped the log back into the fire, where the flames licked it's side like a hungry dog. "Mother.." she coughed out a clogged throat. "Come my child" She turned and hobbled slowly around the fireplace, towards the wall of the cave. Ada followed, her feet leading her on while her mind sobbed inside itself.
Her mother stood on the edge of the raised platform looking out on the empty expanse of the cave. Her rotten grey eyes stared dead ahead at a large rock on the ground, “look.” Ada stood patiently next to her mother, nervously fiddling with the hem of her skirt. The rock infront of her rippled and started to rise. It then took on the form of a person, and as if rising from a slumber the figure stood, the illusion of being a part of the earth fell off it like blanket and collected in a small pile at it's feet. The figure stretched and faced her.
It was not solid. The person wavered like smoke before a beam of sunlight: constantly repelling and swirling but maintaining the same contour lines. Ada made out the face which was hidden behind a thick matted beard. If the person had colour it would have had fiery red hair, rosy cheeks and eyes so blue they camouflaged into the sky on a sunny day.