#kydwriting

[sourrcandy]

KILL YOUR DARLINGS ; writing snippet ↳ chapter 03. day and night

kyd current wc: 5412 // cw: mentions of death (edit inspo by @oskervos)

From the outside, Jade Citadel is a palace carved in white jade, a tower fit for royalty. But on the inside, layers of levels are carved within the stone, an indestructible fortress of fossil stones. Aurelia has never dared to venture below water level, the dark tunnels below ground claustrophobic and far more ancient than the empire itself.

Death leads her down the stairs like they have done this a thousand times. And they let out a chuckle when they emerge into a cryptesque chamber, saying, “I assume you have never been here before, Gongzhu.” When she doesn’t reply, they beckon her forward, arms stretching out as if they are a presenter. “Welcome to Porcelain Hall, where ancient fallen warriors lay and are remembered for their sacrifice. But I suppose the remembrance part of it is forgotten.”

“This is Porcelain Hall?”

She doesn’t mean for her words to sound mocking, but the look Death gives her sends chills down her spine. Pressing her lips together, she opts to look around the chamber.

Intricate interweaving columns arch up to the ceiling, perfectly polished and stone white. A circular set of stairs sits in the middle, a delicately carved sculpture of a warrior with a fox curled around their ankles sitting on each side to face the middle. Stepping up carefully, Aurelia approaches the tall imposing statue that stands in the landing of the steps, the carving stretches towards the ceiling and depicts a pair of warriors back to back with fossilised briars winding up to bind them together. There is an opening between the two warrior sculptures.

With bated breath, Aurelia takes a few steps forward, and finds herself staring straight into a pond of rainbow water.

“That’s it?”

Death laughs, a nightmarish black mist bursting from within their gown and leaking around to surround the pond in a boiling black liquid. “You seem to have high expectations.”

Aurelia scoffs, crossing her arms to peer into the pond. It shimmers under the glow of the white jade, reflecting a light against the walls. She sees herself in the crystal clear water, a still prism mirror of liquid that ripples at her feather-like touch when she hesitantly skims a finger over the water. It is a warmth that pricks her fingertip, a tingling sensation.

“Tick tock, little princess, you don’t want to be late, do you?” Aurelia catches the faintest trace of a sly smile on Death’s skull, their jaw lifting ever so slightly, just as she feels the sudden push on her back. And she is falling headfirst into the colourful darkness of the pool.

gen tag!! @kazino, @halcionic, @candymillk, @sautrns, @cianawrites, @janaisvu, @ninazeniks, @ambrosiadarling, @perditism, @varkolak, @seasteading, @lasbrumas, @solariumarcade