Desire's Door

An hour past midnight, I heard a knock at my office door. I turned away from my papers, wondering who on earth required my attention at this hour. I got quite the shock when I found Adelia Gregoire in my doorway. I had half a mind to slam the thing in her face, given that she’d just narrowly escaped imprisonment, but the look of desperation in her eyes convinced me against it.

           “Your Majesty, I’m sorry to bother you.” She clasped her hands in front of her, beginning to fiddle with her finger tips. “I simply wanted to thank you for pardoning me today….”

           I nodded curtly. As much as I’d wanted justice for Mr. Halloway, it didn’t seem fair to sentence an innocent woman to life in prison. “Of course, Lady Gregoire. It’s my pleasure to see you retain your title.”

           She smiled shyly as though there was more she wanted to say.

           “Is that all?” I inquired.

           “Well…no, Your Majesty.” She averted her gaze, suddenly becoming very nervous. “You see…. I think that I know how Mr. Halloway met his end. This is going to sound absolutely insane, but I don’t believe that he was murdered – I….” She let her voice trail off.

           I looked at her expectantly, urging her to continue.

           “It might be best if I just show you,” she confessed. “If you’ll let me.”

           I was taken aback by her suggestion but ultimately decided that, for the good of the people, it might be worth trusting her word. “Well, of course, if it can give us more insight into his death.”

           Guards in tow, the pair of us wandered through the palace halls. Once we passed into the servants’ stairwell, she began to explain her theory. “I’m not sure how well you knew Henry outside of the council, but it was fairly common knowledge that he dabbled in the dark arts….” I nodded in approval. He had nearly started a fire in his room trying to summon a demon of sorts. I’d wondered frequently how a man with such sharp wit could believe in such abstract things. “I have reason to believe that he might have gone too far,” Adelia continued. “And it may have been his determination that cost him his life.”

           “How can you be so certain?” I inquired incredulously. She’d spoken with such conviction.

           “The night that he died, we argued about him creating a passage of sorts into another realm…. He asked me for help, and I told him that it was suicide. I didn’t think he’d actually make it, but maybe….” We’d reached the bottom of the stairwell, and she stopped ceremoniously.

           “That’s absurd!” I protested. “You mean to tell me that he somehow opened a portal to hell?”

           “Exactly,” she stated matter-of-factly, as though it was the most normal thing in the world.

           I shook my head. “He might have been a madman, but he certainly didn’t have any magical powers, either. If he did, wouldn’t he have been able to make himself immortal with all that power?” I dismissed her outlandish suggestion.

In the low light, I could just barely make out the wall to my right, which seemed to her to have great importance. The lantern flickered fleetingly against the stone of the ‘passageway’, as she’d called it. Adelia began trailing her hands against each stone with laser focus, as if she could make out every little marking. I watched her in silence for a few moments, then suddenly, her face broke into a smile. She must have found what she was looking for.

           She paused, both hands pressed up against the wall like some kind of maniac. “I know it sounds crazy. Just wait. I’ll show you.”

           I scoffed at her suggestion. “Show me what? I’ve had enough of this charade. – Guards! I’m going back to my-”

           Just as I turned around to head back up the stairs, Adelia started muttering in another language, marking the stones on either side of her with purposeful, small circles. Each consonant sounded bitter and acrid, almost like fire crackling. I dismissed it at first as yet another part of her hoax, but then the cobblestones beneath my feet began to glow. Every crack between every stone came alight with a brilliant orange. I whirled around once again to face the wall. Much to my surprise, the stones she’d traced with her fingers had been transformed into a black, iron door. I blinked, hoping this was some lapse in consciousness, but everything was just the same when I opened my eyes.

           Adelia smiled smugly, and I gaped at her in shock. “See?” She exclaimed with the pride of a child who had finally proven that unicorns existed.

           I was at loss for words as I slinked over to join her. “N- Now what?” I stuttered. “Are we going to open that thing?” She nodded, and I recoiled. “I- I get your point. There’s no need to continue. …Is this the best idea considering what may have happened to Mr. Halloway?”

           I wearily observed the halo of pink and blue light shining out around the door, beaconing us in. There was something mesmerizing but menacing about it. It seemed harmless from the outside, but, if it truly was a door to another realm, the consequences were likely…unearthly.

           Her eyes were alit with something I could only describe as lust. “If this takes us where I think it does, our mortal forms should be perfectly fine.”

           I contorted my features in confusion. Mortal form? What does she mean my ‘mortal form’? Before I could react, she knocked three times, and then pulled the thing open by the handle. I had no choice but to follow her into the unknown. She gripped my hand tightly, yanking me onward into the abyss.

           I felt like I was inside the sun; orbs of every colour and flashes of light obscured my vision. I reached out for Adelia, but she was gone. The only sensation I could muster was a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. My feet were planted solidly on the ground, but some force behind my back urged me to continue. Into what, I had no idea. My sense of direction had been abolished completely, but I assumed it was pushing me ‘forward’. One glance back through the door, into the world I’d just left, told me otherwise. After a few steps, I blacked out.

           When I woke up, I was on the ground of the very same, mundane stairwell. Adelia was there, but the door was gone. All of the lights had vanished, as well. Not to mention, my guards were nowhere to be seen. The only thing in sight was the plain, dark stone. At first, it seemed so…normal, like the past few minutes had never happened. I began to question my own sanity. Perhaps I’d fallen unconscious and made the whole thing up.

Then, Adelia regained consciousness, and I realized that neither of us had on the same clothes we’d entered with. Instead of her plain, white nightgown, Adelia had somehow donned the most beautiful evening gown. She was wrapped in pink satin and dripping of jewels. I, however, wore the same golden gown that I’d worn to my coronation years ago. I looked at Adelia in annoyance as if to say, Now what? A full skirt, while gorgeous, certainly wasn’t going to help us fight off demons of all things.

She simply sat upright, ignoring my concern, and laughed giddily in amazement. “We’re here,” was all she said.

“Where exactly is ‘here’?” I questioned, gesturing to the room around us.

“Well, technically, we’re nowhere – we’re floating somewhere between life and death.”

What?! “So, we’re…dead – in a purgatory of sorts? Are we still in the palace?”

           “Yes and no….”

           So helpful. I could have strangled her if she wasn’t my only way out of this- whatever it was. “Care to elaborate?”

           “Our bodies are still in the palace – that’s why we woke up here. Right now, we’re in regnum conscientia: The Realm of Consciousness. If we venture far enough, we’ll get to regnum cupiditatem: The Realm of Desire.”

           I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. My head was throbbing in attempt to take in all she was saying. “So…we’re not dead? Our bodies are still alive, but we’re...inside our heads?”

           She shrugged, brushing off my questions. “I guess that’s one way to make sense of it.” She rose to her feet in one fluid motion, beaconing for me to follow. “…Let’s go. We can discuss this on our way. We don’t have much time.” I nearly didn’t notice the fact that she’d addressed me so casually – this did not seem like the place, or the time, to uphold formalities.

           Urged onward once again by the urgency in her voice, I followed blindly. She led me into the main foyer, which seemed wholly unchanged from when I’d passed it just hours ago. The only difference between this palace and the real one was that this one was, well…dead. There were no staff wandering the halls, no guards changing posts. The palace was completely and entirely empty, save the two of us.

           “So, we’re looking for the rega cupid-” I cut myself off. I wasn’t even going to try to mimic her Latin.

           She nodded curtly, keeping her eyes fixed on the doorway. “Regnum cupiditatem?”

           “Yes, that,” I stated, point-blankly. I wasn’t accustomed to feeling like a fool.

           She didn’t bother to explain more, and I didn’t bother to question her. When she attempted to pry open the golden French doors, they wouldn’t budge. She furrowed her brow, surveying the things up and down, looking for a way out. “It can’t be….” She whispered to herself. “I used the right incantation. Unless…” She turned away from the door and started towards the grand marble stairwell, strutting purposefully towards the upper levels, “this is the Realm of Desire. Come on, Lena!”

            I winced internally. No one but my closest friends had called me by my first name in the longest time, let alone my childhood nickname. Although, considering the circumstances, she was closer than any friend at the moment.

           After wandering upstairs, Adelia found what she was looking for: the board room. She didn’t need to go far. She simply announced her wish, and the door appeared right in front of her. In awe, I stared after her as she entered. After a moment, I decided to try it out. I asked the universe for my crown, and it appeared on my head. I smiled, wondering at the possibilities and the detriments of these newfound powers: there was most likely a cost.

           “Are you coming?” Adelia poked her head back out.

           I nodded and joined her. Upon entering the room, I found that we weren’t alone. Someone else had already passed over before us. Henry Halloway sat at his usual, designated seat to my right. His eyes widened in fear when he saw me. “No, no, no! She’s back!” He shrieked, yanking at the shackles that bound him to the table. “Don’t touch me, you monster!”

           “Henry, it’s me, Helena,” I said calmly.

           “I brought her with me,” Adelia came to my defence. “It’s really her.”

           He shook his head, cowering behind the edge of the table. “Don’t you see? She’s a demon, a master of deception….”

           Adelia rolled her eyes turning back towards me. “He’s gone mad in here. …That’s what happens if you stay too long. It’s a curse of sorts.”

           “I’m not crazy!” He interjected. “She trapped me and chained me up in here. I was so close, but she intercepted me.”

           “Henry, it’s me. I swear-” Before I could finish pleading my case, another voice joined in.

           “Helena,” the voice sang from outside the door, “I know you’re here.” It sounded eerily familiar, almost as if-

           I locked eyes with Adelia who shook her head. She hadn’t the slightest clue what was going on, either. Suddenly, a woman pulled open the door, a woman who looked exactly like me. She looked like me! She had a face like mine, but the smile she wore was sinister. Her black ballgown was cropped at the knees and looked as though she’d taken a chainsaw to the hem. As she stepped towards me, I recoiled, leaning back onto the conference room table.

           She laughed, taking me in. “I believe you have something that belongs to me,” she crooned.

What could I possibly-?

She plucked the crown off my head and placed it ceremoniously on her own. “Ah… That’s better,” she sighed, her eyes flickering with pride. “Here, I’m Queen. Don’t forget yourself. You’re a mere mortal, Your Majesty.”

She bobbed her head in a mock bow, giggling. Then, she carried on to her next victim. “Oh, my sweet Adelia. I knew you’d come for your friend.” She glanced over at Mr. Halloway. “But we both know he means more than that, doesn’t he?”

Adelia’s face flushed red, and she averted her gaze. “Let him go,” she ground out, leveling her eyes with the demon’s. “Enough of your games, Mereselda.”

The demon’s smile faltered. Her voice became less sing-song and more menacing. “How sweet… You might know my name, but that doesn’t give you the upper hand here, my dear. This is my realm.”

Mereselda pursed her lips, trailing her hand over Adelia’s shoulders as she marched over to Mr. Halloway. “And finally, you, my darling.” She planted an exaggerated kiss on his cheek, locking eyes with Adelia. “You’re quite popular today….” He slumped down in his chair, and she took my seat at the head of the table, looking queenlier than I ever could. “Let’s get to it: which one of you is going to take his place so he can go home?”

“I will,” Adelia offered without missing a beat.

“Absolutely not!” Mr. Halloway and I objected simultaneously.

“Please, Adelia,” he pleaded, straining against his handcuffs to hold her hand across the table. “Don’t do this. You told me this would happen, and I didn’t listen. I should live with the error of my ways.”

“But, Henry, I let you go. If anyone’s to blame-”

“Aw…” Mereselda rolled her eyes. “Knock it off you two!” When she slammed her fist down on the table the pair of them were separated by some invisible force. “I need to know which one of you is staying, and which one is going. I need to have a contract drawn up so none of your other mortal friends come wandering in here to take you back.”

I stifled a laugh. She was absolutely unlike me: a fiend for paperwork. I couldn’t stand staring at a sheet. I’d have sooner discussed the matter than typing out some frivolous agreement. At this, I struck a realization: if she was truly created in my opposite image, then I knew her greatest weakness….

“Mereselda,” I began, “I think it’s best if we settle this between you and me. Afterall, we are Queens of these sister realms.”

“Alright, Helena. I suppose it’s only fair. Take a seat.” The chair to her left moved out, beaconing me to sit as her subordinate. I passed up her offer, choosing to sit at the end of the table opposite her.

“I think we can strike a fair bargain,” I said, confident in my ability to negotiate.

“You first,” she prompted. “What do you have to offer me in exchange for your friend?”

“Well, it’s not something but rather someone – I should hope that someone of great importance to me should suffice.”

She clasped her hands on top of the table, mimicking my mannerisms. “That depends.”

Adelia locked eyes with me as if to say, Don’t do it. I persisted. Could I really outsmart a demon, the master of trickery? “The person I have to offer you is none other than Prince Kentwell, my soon-to-be husband.”

Little did she know, he didn’t exist. I’d never had any interest in a lover, much less a political partner, to help me rule my kingdom. “He should be here any second, Mereselda. You’ll adore him just as much as I do.” Since I could conjure up whatever I desired, he was the picture of what I’d never imagined a husband to be: tall, broad, and, well, a man. As such, I assumed he’d be the man of Mereselda’s dreams.

“Hello, my darling.” As if on cue, he entered the board room – a cup of coffee in hand, for me, I presumed. How I hated coffee... He strode around the table, placed a hand on my shoulder, then planted a kiss on top of my head. I plastered a smile on my face, enveloping his hand with my own.

Mereselda perked up in his presence. She leaned her cheek against her hand flirtatiously. “Well, I suppose I wouldn’t mind some of that.”

“So, it’s a deal?”

She rose from her seat, beaconing him towards her with her fingers. “Come here, my dreamy dear. …Do tell me: what is your name?”

He obeyed without question, somehow knowing he was made specifically for her – and not for me. It wasn’t long before she had him ensnared in her embrace. She turned her attention away from him for a couple of seconds to seal the deal. “I’ll let your silly mortal friend go if you let me keep your man for all eternity, Helena.”

“He’s all yours,” I stated dejectedly. I tried my hardest to appear defeated, giving my best impression of a love-stricken glance back at the prince.

With one snap of her finger, Mr. Halloway was set free of his chains and the very same pink-blue portal opened up to transport us out of the realm. Adelia wrapped her arms around Mr. Halloway, and the two of them rushed towards the door. Adelia grabbed my hand once more as the three of us marched onward back into the abyss.