As soon as we left the room I woke up in and entered the hallway, she let go of my hand and continued walking with her hands clasped in front of her. I didn't know what else to do so I followed directly behind her, being careful not to step on the purple dress she was wearing under her white apron.

The walls of the hallway were designed the same way in every direction. Dark purple with a smooth surface. The hallway itself was long and spacious. It held many doors and a multitude of paintings and murals covered the walls. There weren't any lightbulbs to illuminate the hall however. Instead, a series of chandlers brightened it in their place. Well, I shouldn't say brightened. Yes, the wax sticks on the chandeliers were lit by a fire, it's just that they weren't the usual fluorescent orange. It was black. The flames radiated a purplish afterglow, corresponding and matching the decor of the hall. I could tell right away that I wasn't in a normal house, let alone my apartment.

As the maid and I continued walking down the hall, I tried to reach a reasonable conclusion as to where I was.

"If this isn't a dream, so does that mean...what happened back there in the store was....."

I stopped in my tracks and clutched the area above my heart, immediately feeling sick to my stomach. I didn't want to finish my thought. However, my mind had other ideas. As much as I tried to shut out the voice inside my head, I couldn't.

"I.....I died!?"

I wanted to think that it wasn't possible but it was the only conclusion I could think of. I rapidly shook my head in denial. My breathing started to spike. My chest felt like it was going to implode at any given moment.

"No that's not possible. If that were the case, why am I here, living!?"

"Princess?"

"But I can't think of any other answer! If I didn't die in the store then-"

"Princess!"

The maid's voice shook me back to reality. When I snapped out of my thoughts, I realized that she was in front of me, her hands on both of my shoulders, wearing an even more worried look than the one before.

"Are you alright? You don't seem so well. Should we summon the doctor?"

She seemed genuinely concerned for me. Even though I've just met her.

Not wanting to cause her anymore worrying, I simply shook my head. Her face seemed to ease up and relax upon me doing so though there was still a bit of uneasiness there. She let go of my shoulders and stepped back.

"If you say you're okay, then alright." Instead of walking in front of me like she was before, she took my hand and intertwined it with hers and we continued walking.

The warm feeling of her hand in mine felt nostalgic. It felt like I'd known her for a long time. As if there was a special connection between us that I can't really describe. Even though hundreds of questions were still spiraling through my mind, her hand made me calm down a little.

"Your body always was a little weak growing up." The maid began. "If you feel sick later, be sure to tell me, alright?"

I nodded my head.

"Always was? Growing up?"

She talked as if I was with her my entire life. I tried to remember any memories of her. I couldn't. The only thing that I could remember was the metal barrel of the pistol that the robber had pointed at me. Yes, I clearly could recall that feeling. The feeling of him tapping the cold tip of the gun on my forehead before he shot me. I don't think I'll ever forget it. But something still didn't add up.

"If I don't remember her, then why did I call her Elvira?"

It's not like I tried to remember her name when I first saw her. It spontaneously appeared in my mind. Like a puzzle piece fitting perfectly into the board.

Before I knew it, we arrived at the end of the hallway, where a spiral staircase made with black steps and blue guard rails awaited us. Some stairs went up, and stairs that went down. I didn't even realize that I wasn't on ground level. Then again, there weren't any windows for me to look out of in the hall.

Still while holding my hand, we started descending down the staircase.

"You're starting your first day at the academy in two days right?" A smile lit up on her face as she spoke. "We have to celebrate then. This is a big step in your life after all Princess. Your mother would be so proud."

"Academy?"

I wasn't too fond of the idea of going back to school. No, actually, I hated even thinking about going back. Especially because of the mess of the person I had become. Making friends, going out, and everything else that came with it was a big no for me as well. Not to mention that I can't even hold a proper conversation anymore. That place is a literally hellhole for people like me. A place where you can't get through the day without talking to a classmate or teacher. A place where you can't be alone. I'd rather die than spend another second in a school building.

I rapidly shook my head back and forth in an attempt to say no thanks but she just put her hand to her mouth and laughed a little.

"You still act like a child Princess. I remember when you were this little." She used her free hand and put it to her hip, palm down. "You've always hidden behind me when the King had his visitors. You have to get over that shyness you know. You're 16 now."

"16?! Not only did my appearance change, but my age too?!"

When we finally finished walking down the stairs seemed to go on forever, we entered a huge circular hallway. The hallway branched into 8 different directions, each that led to another part of whatever this place is. On the floor was another mural but this one, unlike the others, was made of colored glass, forming a picture of a man wearing all black and a purple cloak that was held up with only two buttons on the top of it with charcoal black "L" shaped horns resting on the sides of his blackish blue hair. He looked different from the other paintings I saw in the hallway and in the room I awoke in. When I looked at it, I felt a tingly sensation in my chest.

We advanced through one of the several connecting hallways and made our way to another pair of huge black double doors where 4 other people dressed like the maid who was still holding my hand were waiting in front of it. They all had tan curled-up horns and appeared to be in their early twenties like her too. And just like before, I recognized them as well.

"Astrid, Mellisa, Iris, Aurora"

They magically appeared in my mind.

"Why do these names keep popping up?"

"Ms. Elvria, everything is ready." Astrid spoke. She had short and wild yellow hair along with tan curled-up horns.

She noticed Elvira holding my hand. "Is everything okay with the Princess?" She asked in the same worried tone that Elvira asked me in before.

"She says she's not sick but I think she might be."

"That's terrible!" Another maid with light blue long curly hair that stopped halfway down her back expressed. "Should we get the doctor for her just in case?"

Elvira shook her head. "She said she doesn't need him either." She sighed. "Honestly Iris, I just think she's still scared of the doctor."

"Well, she was always afraid of needles." Mellisa chimed in. She look similar to Elvira, only that her brown hair was shorter.

All four of the maids broke out into laughter. I could tell it wasn't the type of laughter to make somebody feel bad though. It was playful laughter. They acted like they'd known me forever. And even though I've never seen any of them before, it didn't feel like they were strangers either.

Elvira let go of my hand and clapped both of hers together. "Alright, we mustn't keep the king waiting any longer. And I'm sure our princess will feel better after putting something into her stomach." She stepped in front of me and the others lined up behind me, their hands clasped in front of them. Elvira then, in one swift motion, opened both doors.

Elvira, followed by me, then the other maids entered the dining hall. The dining hall was very, very, big. It was the same if not bigger than a college cafeteria. The violet walls of the dining hall were separated by no less than 100 feet in all directions. Multiple black chandeliers lit by fiery black flames hung from the ceiling that was about 50 feet above us. In the middle of the room, was a long table that stretched out about half the length of the hall. On both sides of the table were multiple chairs that looked very expensive. All of them looked the same except for the two at the ends of the table. The one closest to us was empty but the other, on the far end of the table, seated a man who looked just like the person on the floor glass mural I saw before I entered the dining hall. Blueish black hair and sharp L-shaped horns radiated his presence.

Elvira stepped forward and bowed. The other four maids behind me did the same.

"Demon King Valfar, Princess Yukina has awoken."