She shifted her focus to the other tapestry in front of her. The background held the same tan coloring as the door frame. It illustrated two planets. One of the planets shown silver and the other gold. A thin bronze oval encircled each planet and intersected in two places as if illustrating their planetary orbits in relation to each other. No other celestial bodies were represented in the tapestry. Below the planets, embroidered into the tapestry was a map that didn't look quite in focus. She walked closer to the tapestry while she kept her attention on the map portion of it. As she drew nearer to the tapestry, the map shimmered and changed. The map appeared to be three-dimensional yet at the same time it appeared to be flat as two-dimensional. When she could, she brushed her fingers along the tapestry on the part that held the map. She pulled her hand away in surprise from the shock she felt. It felt like static electricity, but stronger.
She turned her attention to the two pieces of furniture in the room. There stood a table and chair. Both positioned in the middle of the room with plenty of room to walk around them. Even so, the room felt too tiny, claustrophobic. She felt the walls closing in on her. She fought to keep the panic of the tiny, confining room from overwhelming her. The chair faced the wall with the gruesome battle scene and faced the door so anyone entering the room would be noticed by the occupant of the chair. The table and chair were the same mahogany coloring as the wooden door. Beside the chair lay a blood red satin pillow on the floor. She could sit on the pillow cross-legged and not touch the stone floor. She didn't.
The frown in Kaily's brow deepened.
She knew she'd never been in the room before, yet it felt somehow familiar to her. Like deja vu. Her heart beat faster and her breathing increased to match the pace of her pounding heart. Something tickled the back of her mind. She closed her eyes, bent over and placed her hands on her knees to keep from passing out. She tried to focus on calming her pounding heart and slowing her panicked breathing. A panic attack, she felt a panic attack grip her and threatened to rob her of any semblance of calm.
She kept her space free of drama and negativity. She kept her life free of things that made her panic, which meant, she remained a recluse and ventured out only when necessary. She didn't welcome anything that upset her controlled, peaceful environment into her life. She took a few more calming breaths and stood. She closed her eyes and rubbed the back of her neck. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Her stomach felt queasy. She shook her head and took more calming breathes. She struggled to stave off a full-blown panic attack. She knew if she gave into the panic which surrounded her, she would fall apart. She struggled to keep her wits. There must be a reasonable explanation, she needed there to be a reasonable explanation.
She walked back to the tapestry with the planets. She brushed the surface with her fingertips again and felt the same shock, more intense this time. It felt as if the whole tapestry came alive with static electricity. She pushed her hand against the tapestry. She felt hardness of the wall everywhere except the middle. She pulled back one of the edges and moved so she could look behind it. On the other side of the tapestry she found an open doorway with upward stairs. She started to take a step up the stairs then stopped mid-stride. She shook her head. Her curiosity be damned! She needed to get the hell out of there, and fast! A stone settled in the pit of her stomach. She lost her curiosity side the day of her parents' death. It should remain lost.
She went back to stand in front of the closed door and stared at the runes on the frame of the doorway. She found the rune she saw glowing on her doorway. It didn't glow or even glimmer in any way. She put her hand on it despite that fact. She refused to spend any more time in that cursed room. She pushed down the feeling of panic she couldn't quite keep at bay. She placed the palm of her hand over the rune with resolve. The stone didn't feel cold or warm to her touch. She took her hand away and stared at the rune again, then again placed the palm of her hand over it. She tried to repeat what she thought she did at the stone arch she fell through. Nothing happened. She tried so many times she lost count before she gave up.
She turned and leaned against the mahogany door, crossed her arms and stared at the tapestry opposite her with the planets. She contemplated her options. Everything felt too real to be a dream. Like it or not, she must accept she was not dreaming. She also needed to accept that whatever happened to get her there in the first place, she couldn't make happen now. Nothing in her short life could explain what happened when she fell through the arched doorway. She sometimes contemplated that there might be
