I walked up the broken stairs, the dead and the Queen my only audience.

I could hear them whisper from their graves. Their bodies deep in the ground while their souls haunt the land.

The queen stood tall in a white dress. She was slightly translucent and had a very eerie presence.

It was no wonder people called Her the Ghost Queen.

I felt a flutter of panic in my chest, there was only one thing that could make Her destroy me. And I hoped She would skip over then.

I had broken someone’s heart a few times out of anger. It was purposeful. I didn’t think She missed it though.

She looked down Her nose at me with a look of disgust on Her face.

The scariest thing about Her was Her stitched mouth. She couldn’t speak. And yet, I still heard Her voice whisper in my head, “What have you done, Selena? What wrongs have you committed?”

I didn’t say anything which made Her search through my mind faster.

“I can taste your guilt, sweet child, but I have no tongue. How can that be so?”

She wanted me to speak. I can’t speak. This is part of the trials. I must win. I must live.

I felt the fog get closer and thicker. My claustrophobia was somewhere in my mind, screaming from the cage She had put it in.

“I found you, sweet child; now tell me, who is Alex?”