I stared up at the towering stone spire. The wind whipped snow in my face. I can’t remember a time when Mia’s room was this stricken with such weather. There was a sinister air hangin over the place. Ever since the tremors started and Mia disappeared, I have been afraid to step foot in here. But it was time to find the answers. Mia’s room was the first place to start. The room of isolation was a snowy wasteland with a spiraling tower in what one would assume was the middle of the room. Of course the size of the “rooms” could vary widely. There was no telling how far the sleek white landscape stretched. You would get lost well before then. Luckily, the house wouldn’t let you die.

Some have tried to kill themselves through exposure or other methods over the years. The house won’t let them. Of course, this never stopped anyone from leaving the house to try elsewhere. Those have been sad times. But I am not sure that I totally disagree with their choice. I wonder sometimes why I keep pushing on. Most of the time, there’s no clear answer to what we are achieving. Some of the younger ones don’t even know what the purpose of the house is. I am starting to wonder more and more if what we’ve been told is true. It’s only been recently that the tremors have brought me a sense of focus.

I squinted as I looked up at the massive white sky. The tip of the tower stretched up to meet the expanse. There was only one entrance into the tower. Massive wooden doors decorated with ornate gold patterns welcomed one into the structure. Welcomed being a strange word to use in such a place. You never really felt welcomed here, unless you were the one needing isolation. I never understood this level of isolation. The bleaker the landscape, the better for those who were “gifted” these rooms. Other isolation rooms contained vast deserts which weren’t so bad. The worst room was Katya’s. Once you stepped through the door, you were dropped right into the middle of an ocean. Katya’s chambers were nothing more than a hut on a small island. The only way out of the room was to drown yourself in the ocean. The house would not let you die.

I pressed against the massive door. It resisted against me but eventually gave way. Inside it was dark. There were several torches that lined the round antechamber. There were hooks on the wall for you coat. One coat hung on one of the hooks, Mia’s. That strange feeling of trespassing came over me.

“Hello?” I called into the darkness beyond. “Mia?” My voice echoed in the dark but no response came. I took a torch and moved into the ground floor chamber. I had been here before so the dark didn’t bother me too much. You could spend hours just trying to find your way to the stair that led upward. There were no other rooms, just the main entrance and the room at the very top. I already felt tired trekking through the weather to this point. I wanted to rest but knew that I better press on.

I found the stairs easily enough. There was a torch holder on the wall by the first step. I placed my torch there and immediately the flame sparked the powder trough on the wall that spiraled up the stairway. I watched as the line of flame spiraled all the way up the wall. It went around and around before I lost it in the void above. I took a breath and started up the stairwell. Any more dallying and I would lose my resolve. It would take another day at least to reach the top. It’s no wonder Mia was seen very rarely at family gatherings. Although, I doubt she used the stairs every time. Throwing yourself to the stones below would be the quickest way out of the room. She had been especially absent lately which was too noticeable to ignore.

By the time I set up camp, I was completely exhausted. There were several landings on the way up that allowed for a fire to be set and a small sleeping roll. Of course sleeping on stone was never going to be comfortable, but I doubt that I would think much of it in my tired state. I laid down and watch the fire crackle. The noise echoed up into the void. I thought I would be prepared for the feeling, but the weight of being alone was agonizing. Not to mention the fear of what I would find at the top. Was there any answer awaiting me? Or was I going to come face to face with Mia’s corpse? I could not know. It had been over a month since I had seen her. I’m not even sure how to tell the tale if I just found her sitting in her room like nothing was happening. Would she think that I’m crazy? The others do. But they have always taken their positions for granted. The house is changing. What once was a place of solace and comfort is now becoming more volatile and even hostile. What if the house turned against us? I tried to shake away all the questions but they haunted me until my body finally gave up consciousness.

[maybe a bad dream about the future]

I awoke with a start and winced a the pain in my hip. As padded as my sleeping roll was, the stone was a worthy opponent. I rose slowly and tried to stretch my back and hips out. The pain would last the day, but I would forget it halfway into my climb. I ate a hasty breakfast of meal cake and water. It wasn’t much, but the special recipe was packed with the energy that I would need until I took a break.

[more stairwell introspection]

I reached the top landing and my heart began to pound. Whatever fatigue I once had now forgotten. The landing was like the antechamber, round and stone. There was a thick red carpet that lined the room. At the opposite end from the stairs were a set of wooden doors, identical to the ones at the tower entrance. I stepped through the room and up to the doors. I hesitated, running my fingers along the golden patterns. It wasn’t too late to turn around. I could jump from the top and the house would take me back. Or would it? Does it matter? I could accept whatever fate befell me. I could ignore whatever calling I thought I had. It was made up in my mind anyway, right? That’s what the others tell me. My hands started to shake as I contemplated the matter. Enough. Before I could make another thought, I pushed the door open.

The room inside was actually beautifully decorated. It was awash with all the colors you could imagine. It was a warming sight after the desolation that was outside. I always forgot how wonderful this place was. The walls were lined with hundreds of shelves filled with books of every size. There were paintings done by Mia hanging in several places. My heart was warmed thinking of my sister. I walked passed the books to the balcony in front of me. There I could look into the rest of the room. The room at the top of the tower was multileveled. The circular room consisted of three rings that were like the one I stood on. Books and paintings adorned the walls. The ground floor was where Mia worked and slept. I looked down from the balcony and was shocked to see a figure sitting in the middle of the room.

“Mia!” I called down. “Mia, is that you?” No answer. The figure didn’t even flinch. I ran down the ramps between levels until I reached the bottom floor. I came down behind the person sitting. Whomever it was, they were definitely alive. I could see their shoulders rise with their breaths. “Who are you? Where’s Mia?” I heard myself call. Part of me was still trying to sneak up on the figure, but obviously my presence was already known. I crept around the outside of the room, taking a wide berth. When I came around I relaxed as all I saw was an old woman sitting before me. I had never seen her before in the house. But perhaps she was someone from the village. It wasn’t all that strange to find someone from the village in one of the rooms. They were a part of us after all.

“Hello.” I said. Still no answer but I kept talking. “Have you seen Mia? She’s been gone awhile so I’ve come to look for her.” The woman’s cracked face didn’t stir. Her eyes were closed and her breathing remained rhythmic. I tried again but no response. I had already come so far and against my better judgement I sat down in one of the padded chairs in front of an enormous hearth. The fire was dead, but it was already warm in the room anyway. I sat and watched the woman for a time.

I didn’t know that I had started to drift into sleep until I jolted awake. I felt for my knife in defensive, but I would have been already dead had anyone meant me harm. I saw the old woman still there and relaxed. I looked around the room to see if any changes had taken place. Nothing had moved, except one thing. The woman was staring at me. Unmoving blue eyes peered into me.

“Hello.” I tried again. My voice was hoarse from sleep and the dry air. “Have you…”

“Listen carefully.” The woman spoke. The voice was aged but I recognized it. The blue eyes should have been a hint, but they were buried in such an old face.

“Mia?” I asked as I stood from the chair, rushing toward her. “Mia, I…”

“Listen!” Mia’s voice boomed although her mouth barley moved. I froze in place. “You were right. We are in danger. Everyone is in danger. The house is failing. Turning. There is a darkness among us. The Darkness.”

“The Darkness? The same darkness the house is supposed to keep at bay?”

“Yes, the very same. The seals are breaking. Soon all will be ash and the world aflame.”

“Mia, what are you saying? Why have you aged so much?”

“Time is not linear in this place, you know this. We do not have the time for stupid questions. You must act. It is too late for me now. My seal is almost broken. Take this.” Mia reached a cracked hand into her tunic and retrieved a small coin. She reached out to hand it to me. I took the coin and turned it over in my hand. It was gold in color and had a design on it that I didn’t recognize.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“It is the key to saving us all. You must find all the coins and return them to the place of birthing.”

“Mia, what the hell are you talking about? You’re speaking in nonsense.”

“No, not nonsense. You are just too foolish to understand now. But you will soon enough. You have to. There is no one else. You…” Mia began to cough. It was a deep, sickly cough. Something wasn’t right.

“Mia, let’s get you out of the room. If you leave the room, then maybe you’ll regain your youth.”

“No. My song is ending now. You’ve seen the winds outside. My attachment to this world is weak.”

“Don’t say that. I can help.”

“Fool’s words. Listen to what I have said. You must leave now.” Mia began to cough again. Blood tricked from her mouth. There was nothing more that I could say to convince her to leave. I wouldn’t be able to take her back in this condition. Mia’s hunched over, her coughing becoming ragged. I started to move forward to comfort her but then I heard something. The loud crack reverberated through the room. It came from above and before I could say a word, a giant stone fell through the floor before me. The hole ripped through the floor and led to the void below. “It has begun. You must leave.”

“Mia, I can’t just…”

“Go! Damn you, just go!” Mia boomed. I growled in frustration but listened. I would have to deal with the weight of letting Mia die later. She would not go. I ran to the ramp to try and make it back to the door. Stones were falling more frequently now as the roof began to rain onto the room. The balconies were pock marked with holes. I had to jump some sections to make it across. It became clearer to me that I wasn’t going to make it. I had one option. I wasn’t sure if the house would save me at this point, but I had no choice. I jumped into the chasm made by one of the larger boulders and plummeted into the void below. Blessedly, the fall through the void was short. The darkness was maddening but I didn’t feel the end coming.

The smack my body made on the stone was vomit inducing. It rang through my ears as I woke on the polished wood on the manor floor. I was alive outside of Mia’s room. My small relief and celebration was short lived as I wretched onto the ornate wood. The bile burnt my chest and throat as it came up. There wasn’t much food in my stomach so I spent some time dry heaving without any result. I wiped the tears and snot away from my face as my stomach finally calmed down.

I got to my feet and faced Mia’s door. It wasn’t glowing like it used to. It was just plain wood now and it was cracked down the middle. I approached the door and tried to knob. It turned but the door didn’t budge. I pushed all my weight into it. No creaking, nothing. There was no sign of any movement. It was like the door was fake and just another part of the wall. I stopped trying and ran my hand down the crack. A tear ran down my cheek and I fell to my knees sobbing.

Mia was gone. She didn’t even try to save herself and forbade me from helping. It didn’t stop the feeling of guilt from swelling up inside of me. I failed her. I stayed there awhile until I remembered the coin she had given me. I took it from my pocket and rubbed the smooth object in my hand. It was a cold metal. I flipped it around in my fingers and studied the design. I would need to find someone who knew what this was. Find the coins and go to the birthing place. That’s what Mia said. I have no idea what she was talking about. I closed my fist around the coin. Anger now taking its place after guilt. I would solve this mystery for us all. Even if the house let me die trying.

After Word

I’ve always been fascinated with houses that have secret passages and mind bending architecture. I dream of those houses quite often. It would be nice if someone wrote a story like this one. I probably won’t get back to it.

I actually wrote this a long time ago when Encanto came out. My kids would watch it on repeat. I might have been reading Joe Abercrombie at the time so I started wondering what a darker version of Encanto would look like. I know I left some of my notes in. It might be tacky but all of these stories are rough drafts and extended notes anyway.

I reread this today because I was thinking about this story. I was thinking of an alternate version to what I wrote where the house is more malevolent in nature. I didn’t have it fleshed out but in the vain of Abercrombie, maybe the person trying to save the house is actually confronted with a choice. Maybe they choose to just save themselves. That would be the grimdark way. No happy endings.