Awoken by a throbbing headache, Catheris clutched his head.
'—oh saintesses…'
His eyes squinted shut as his pained head tried to process everything. Instinctively, he patted down his surroundings. Oh saintesses, it felt like a bad hangover-
The mattress was far too soft to be his own, and the floral stench was getting to him. The lilac was overbearing. He gave up and waited until his headache lightened. Slowly inhaling, he gathered the energy to open his eyes.
"Huuu…"
…
What the.
He was on a soft pink quilt with a delicate rose print. The bed had a tall, champagne silk canopy. Whoever it was seemed hell-bent on giving him the princess treatment. There were bows everywhere, pink everywhere, and a dainty vanity to the side. There was too much of everything, besides one thing — his damned phone.
'They must've confiscated it.'
Catheris somewhat shrugged it off. It was the logical thing to do when you were kidnapping someone.
He sat himself up, ready to slip off the bed — no, seriously, what was this— the princess and the pea? Why were the mattresses so tall, damn.
…!
Catheris's eyes twitched as he felt a tug.
Hah, they really chained his ankle to the bed—
Jeez… was this related to the Bureau, or was it just weird winter Virosiad bullshit…? Honestly, it was concerning that he couldn't tell. How long had it been? It couldn't have been that long, but Catheris knew that lately his days were usually consumed by sleep. How bothersome. He had things to get done today.
Seriously… this was too much. Why go through all this trouble to kidnap a grown man? He slimmed down, lost his lean physique, and wore his hair more feminine ever since 'that'— to the point of unrecognizability. Catheris didn't believe it'd be one of his exes.
First, how could he get out?
Each thought Catheris thought would go somewhere was thrown out of his head the second he felt the tug of the chain. Frustration bubbled in his head. Whenever he tried to shimmy himself off the mattress, he was reminded of the anklet.
'…Just look around.' Catheris arbitrarily decided.
Catheris slid onto the bedside table and grabbed the vanity's fluffy stool to support himself so he could get a better look at the room. It seemed like an intimate, quaint space for whoever slept here. Tons of poetry calligraphy littered the vanity, as if the writer had to pull themself away from a trance. It was as if the vanity was home: dozens of trinkets, ornament antiques, and stuffed animals lived there. He pushed himself forward to get a closer look.
Amongst the sea of poetry stood out a peculiar piece—one inked entirely in red.
Fair maiden of golden ichor
Plead your holy blood to cleanse thy worries
Dance amongst the ripples
of celestial bodies and stars.
Pray, your holy maiden's ichor
bleeds onto your chains,
Golden dew corroding your shackles
Undoing your sacred authority.
May the fair maiden waltz freely
among the stars, in the air,
May her soul encompass everywhere
As her wings take flight, overseeing all:
Her feathers dry, light, and unburdened
Wading across the surface tension,
As free as a seabird
-Verlaine
With how much it stood out — it was intended for… him? This Verlain was probably this room's owner, and someone trying to help him? What the hell was this escape room set-up. Though, what did it mean? Was the 'holy maiden' referring to him or a deity?
Shackled bird motifs.
Dancing on the water…
Well. he was literally shackled.
"A… key hint?" Catheris purred.
His eyes darted across the room for a semblance of one of those themes. It really all was just pink and roses… Maiden's ichor… golden dew.
Holding his breath, his eyes flickered up to where he hadn't checked.
The ceiling.
The silk canopy cradled an aquatic-themed mobile underneath. Fish dangled above him. Dolphins spun, riding the waves as multicolored paper cranes strung from the ceiling.
Catheris sighed in relief.
He quickly grew skeptical again. He still had to decipher the damn clues. He arranged the hard pillows as base and used the bedpost to stand himself up tall enough to poke the mobile.
His eyes danced across the motion of the waves. He noticed an astronomical sphere covered by the dangling fish in the center of the mobile. Stretching his fingers out, he closed it.
Without making a sound, a small gold key magically fell onto the pillow cushioning. Catheris plopped down after it. It clearly did not belong to his chains. It was cute and tiny with a heart and seashell shape to the handle. He tried it anyway. To no one's surprise, it didn't work.
Rather, it belonged to something more fancy. More… ornate.
The bed jostled as he held the key tightly and rushed to the vanity. He thought back to the dozens of antiques. Faberge egg? No. Bone comb? Eh. Rose embroidered handkerchief? Yeah, no.
As the tunnel vision began to wear off, Catheris realized there was something right in front of him. A rosy pink jewelry box with a keyhole. He dead panned; the answer was literally right in front of him. Nonetheless, he put the key in.
Click! A perfect fit. It opened up, revealing a ballerina in the middle of a pirouette spinning on her base—an ocean-themed ocean disc. The music box hummed out a slightly slow and eerie melody — a serene lullaby. The top of the music box was painted sky blue, with clouds and birds soaring through.
As the song ended, the base of the music box popped out to reveal a compartment for jewelry. In this case, a proper looking gold key.
Catheris quickly jammed the key into the anklet's keyhole, twisting with so much force that he yanked his leg to get it off.
He gave his foot a few thumps on the floor to ease the stiffness before he circled the room. After taking a good look at everything, he checked if the door was locked from the outside.
Catheris rubbed his eyes as he came close to the door. Quite frankly — he wanted to sleep a little bit more. He held the knob firmly as he pushed forward, making sure to not make much noise.
He peeked his head outside, only to see complete darkness as he gazed into that echoing void. Catheris stepped into the hallway. Dust screened his vision as he moved forward. The bare smooth tile was cold on his skin. Blinking, he slowly adjusted his eyes to the darkness.
A heavy set of dusty curtains hung from the tall windows as moonlight diffused through the musty fabric, softly illuminating the hall. It smelt like wine — slightly sour, mixed with the sickeningly sweet smell of rotting oranges. Delicate, silky cobwebs hugged the gothic details.
Dozens of crooked mermaid statues cluttered the sides as they surveyed the hallway with their beady marble eyes. They looked like cherubs frozen in the moment. Catheris anxiously shuffled around them the best he could. It looked like they'd take it personally if they bumped into him — and he'd really rather not.
So many mermaids… Maybe that was why Naeda's painting was getting all wonky. Lotta mermaid freaks out here.
"…"
Candelabras lined the hall further down. Catheris caught his reflection in a mirror of a hoarder's collection. He paused. It came off as a somewhat dreamy vignette; he looked like an apparition with all his features blurred in the darkness.
The image got him thinking — what type of people kidnapped him? A secret society, perhaps? Maybe it had to do with that poem.
"Like I'd know," Catheris muttered underneath his breath, irritated.
He gripped his hair, annoyed, and tugged it to the side. They could've at least chucked a water bottle on the bed, really.
His heart rate settled at a cautious pace, each beat thumping softly in his chest as he continued perusing into a corridor. The kidnappers didn't seem like they had hostile intentions for now.
Glancing back at the far light of the room he came from, Catheris eased his breathing.