Chapter 25 - Act Two
The filming of the plotline in the village went smoothly. The only tiny problem Joshua had was during the scene where he played Gaston and confessed his love for Belle.
No matter what Joshua asked of Ynor when it came to his character, he would not dare show any dissatisfaction, but reality was reality, and acting was acting.
Joshua gave Ynor a good time to mentally prepare himself before the succubus rejected his confession.
That was the only part of the whole filming process that ran into a few bumps, otherwise, everything was smoothly shot in a single take.
The next act would be the real essence of "Beauty and the Demon".
"The target has already exited the village and will arrive at the portal's location in an hour's time. Zenarth, get ready. Don't let the target detect traces of the portal." Joshua sent a message to Zenarth through the chat window he had created. Belle's "mother", Melina had already bid Belle farewell as she left on her carriage to Norland, the City of Magic about ten kilometers away from the village.
The only rune Zenarth possessed appeared on the chat window, telling Joshua that he had received the message.
Joshua clenched his marked left hand tight as he began to concentrate to control the movements of the banshees. The mark not only allowed him to control undead creatures, but it also allowed him to share their senses.
Here, Joshua only shared the banshees' vision. The changing between the vision angles of twelve banshees was enough to send anyone with 3D Vertigo to the sickbed for weeks on end. Thankfully, Joshua had no such problems.
In one of the banshees' vision, Joshua saw the carriage that was driving through the snow-covered forest.
...
Melina pulled her cloak close to her. Winter came exceptionally early this year, and it was already snowing slightly when she left earlier.
It was not a good omen. If the snowfall increased in the next few days, the village's path to Norland would definitely be blocked.
In order to allow Belle to live in her new home as soon as possible, Melina needed to hurry to Norland.
Her eagerness made her constantly urge the servant and old horse to go faster.
The snow on the ground had gradually increased, and suddenly, Maria felt a kind of palpitation.
She pulled her hood down a little and looked around.
The forest was still the forest, and the snow was still snow, yet Melina could feel that her surroundings had become a little weird.
It was... too quiet. While Melina was old, she was not yet senile.
The forest was way too quiet. She could still hear the chirping of unknown birds moments earlier, but now, it was as if all of the animals within the forest had disappeared.
The snow falling from the sky was getting heavier, and soon, a snowstorm would descend upon the area.
While Melina was thinking about how she should seek shelter from the coming blizzard, an ancient and imposing building entered her field of vision.
It was not her first time traveling on this road to Norland, and she had never seen such a castle in her memories.
Did a great mage build it?
The heavy snow falling from the sky gave Melina little time to think as she got her servant to head toward the castle, hoping that the lord of the castle would be kind enough to allow her to stay the night.
The carriage entered the slightly gloomy castle garden, and Melina got off the carriage before she motioned for her servant to bring the carriage to the castle's stable. She then sorted out her outfit and went up to the steps of the castle gate.
Before Melina even knocked, the castle gate slowly opened.
"Thank you..." Melina walked inside and thought that a servant in the castle had noticed her, but when she looked behind the castle door, there was no one there.
That surprised Melina somewhat, but she was a businesswoman who had seen the world, and mages usually had all kinds of weird magic, so she politely closed the castle gate behind her.
"Is anyone there?" Melina asked aloud as her voice echoed across the empty castle. The atmosphere and light in the whole castle seemed a little dark and dreary.
"Anyone? Sorry to bother you... I am just a traveler, and I hope to come in for shelter from the snowstorm."
Melina shouted again, yet no one answered her.
However, in the darkness, countless eyes were looking at the uninvited human, and that included two ghosts.
"To think that Her Lordship actually allowed a human into her domain. In the past, this human would have been eaten up by my kin outside the Forest of Twilight's Shadow..."
"Silence, Farlow. Her Lordship and His Highness, the prince have already formed an alliance. The prince's orders are the will of the duke herself, and His Highness specifically wanted us to participate in... what was it again..."
"Movie, Fokker," another hidden voice reminded him.
"Right, the filming of the movie alone is already a great honor in itself. Don't complain anymore. Have you memorized your lines? The banshees are coming. What was the first line again?"
A candelabrum by the table opened its eyes as it knocked the clock beside it, whispering.
"She must have lost her way in the forest."
"Shut it."
The whispers in the dark instantly caught Melina's attention, and she looked in the direction of the voices. However, there was no one there aside from a candelabrum and a clock on the same table.
"Excuse me, is there anyone home?" Melina slowly walked to the table because the exquisite candelabrum and clock attracted her attention. She then picked up the candelabrum to inspect it.
As a businesswoman, she could tell that they were very valuable items at first glance. But she dared not even think of stealing them since the place she was in was just too strange.
She put down the gold-plated candelabrum and looked around. Soon, she found the only place that was lit up in the dark hall.
"I am just seeking a place to keep warm!" Melina said loudly, hoping someone would hear her as she slowly followed the light into a room with a fireplace.
The warmth from the fireplace was enough for Melina to rejoice. She quickly made her way to the fireplace, and the heat from the flames swiftly dispelled the cold brought on by the snowstorm.
Immediately afterward, Melina heard the sounds of bowls and plates from the next room. When she followed the sound, she found dinner served on the table.
It was as if it had been specially prepared for her.
"Thank you very much..." Melina looked around. While she had no idea where the people in the castle had gone to, her hunger still made her sit down to enjoy the hard-to-get dinner.
Before she took a few bites, the teacup on the table suddenly moved.
Melina looked at the teacup in shock as she suddenly realized that there was a human face on it.
"Mama said I shouldn't move willy-nilly. It could scare you."
The teacup spoke to Melina with a tender voice.
Melina's brain went blank for a few seconds. No wonder she did not see any living person in the castle. The castle was alive, and it did not need any living person to tend to it.
"Sorry," the teacup apologized very sincerely.
"It... It's okay..."
Melina tried her darndest best to maintain her composure, but... all of the living people in the castle become household wares and furniture? Was the castle cursed?
Soon, all kinds of fearful thoughts filled Melina's heart, and she resolutely chose to escape the accursed castle.