Part 6

The sky looked bluer, the grass and leaves seemed greener and the flowers appeared brighter. While I was walking, I noticed that I saw every little detail. I saw the veins of the leaves, the bugs on the plants and the birds in the trees. I followed my breath and heartbeat. I had a strange feeling that now I only had hours to live, I was feeling more alive than ever.

After a while, I suddenly stood before the castle. It was huge, black and absolutely terrifying. I was standing just a few steps away from the door, and I looked up in admiration.

The entire castle was built from large, pitch-black stones. The walls were covered in dark green vines dotted with thousands of roses, red as blood. There were countless small windows from stained glass, coloured red, blue and dark purple. Around the windows and the doors hung dozens of human skulls and bones. It was horrible and sad, but somehow, beautiful as well. Something about it invited me in, although I did not quite know what.

In front of me, on both sides of the gigantic, heavy, wooden doors, were two guards dressed in heavy black armour carrying a long, silver sword in their belt and a spear each. They both had one of the red roses on their belt. I took a deep breath and gathered all my courage. Then, I walked forward. I climbed the stairs up to the door without a problem, but the moment I took the last step, the guards moved their spears in front of me, forming a cross. "Halt," they said in unison. I froze on my spot. "I am Makatza, I have a letter," I said, trying to sound confident. The left guard nodded, letting me know that it was okay for me to grab it. I took it from the pocket in my cape and stepped closer. The guard took off his helmet and revealed his face. He was younger than I had expected, not much older than me, and he had red curled and vibrant blue eyes. I realized I was staring at him. "s..sorry" I said a bit ashamed. "Here."

I showed him the letter.

Makatza,

I'm feeling generous today.

I will give you this one and only chance to save everyone you love.

I'm sure you've heard about the little war I've planned. I have troops bigger than you can imagine, creatures worse than your most terrible nightmares. They will destroy everything and everyone, you won't stand a chance.

Here's my proposal:

Come to the castle in four days, to surrender. Let me have your life and I will spare the ones of everyone else.

Give your life to save them.

This is your chance to be the hero. Your choice.

A.F.

Now it was the guards turn to stare at me. "You are very brave," he said. "I wish there was a way to help you."

"You can open the doors for me," I said. He nodded and he and his colleague, whose face was still well hidden under his helmet, took the doors and pulled them open with a lot of power.

"Good luck," he said at the last moment.

Then, I entered.