The doors, thankfully, opened at my knock with no creaks – I would have been rather annoyed at that, with the dirty old crone nearby to witness that. I could not see into the castle – it was dimly lit, and so my eyes became slits as I squinted into the darkness on my journey inside.

The darkness slowly became an image of a few lit candles scattered around an entrance hall, patches of light on what was otherwise a black canvas. My stride faltered slightly – an old childhood fear of the dark had never really gone away, it seemed.

I must have walked about five metres into the hall when the doors slammed shut without warning, extinguishing the candles and plunging me into total darkness. Despite my usual calm and composed demeanour, I was ashamed to feel my pulse and breathing increase reflexively. My fingers fumbled automatically for the rucksack upon my back, struggling with the straps. Trembling digits fought with the clasps to reach my lifeline. As my panic continued to rise, and my useless hand finally reached for it’s target, my eyes were assaulted with light as a hundred candles sprang to life, leaving me standing there, gasping for air, a rucksack halfway off my arms, and a now unneeded flashlight within my grasp.

My face burned. If my colleagues could see me now… I pushed that humiliating thought away, my mind turning to focus on the surroundings. The hall was, admittedly, beautiful – gothic architecture dominated the building it seemed. There was a set of stairs at the centre of the hall, and at the top stood a man. I had not noticed his entrance, though this was not surprising, given how much of a nervous wreck I had been a few moments previously. He was…stunning. I could not describe him with any other word. His features seemed as if he were sculpted from marble. Dark eyes, almost the shade of obsidian, pierced me as he gazed down upon me. He did not speak, yet gave a small smirk, as he turned away smoothly, his feet gliding upon the ground to exit through the doors behind him.

Curious, and admittedly a little annoyed that he did not even greet me, I readjusted my pack, and started up the stairs to follow him.