plotted starter for @tangledfate
The palace hadn't changed. Though, perhaps in the grand scheme of things, seven years was nothing compared to how long it had been standing. The windows were dim, not lit warmly from within and Lilith supposed that was change enough. The lock was the same. Still musical and opened to the same tune-- A sweet melody she had shared with him once in The Garden. It had become a secret between them. Something loving and tender. Maybe that's why he hadn't changed it to something else. Or worse, taken the mechanism out completely.
Instead the magic reacted to her voice. Swirled around the door like the delicate flight of some ethereal bird and she heard the click that allowed her to pull it open. It creaked a little, like it hadn't been used in some time, but otherwise she was welcomed by it. And the dim front hall. Illuminated only by the reddish light of the day, streaming in through high windows and casting pools across dusty rugs and delicate tile.
The door closed behind her with a gentle click and seemed to echo in the space, seemingly empty of life. There was a decorative table with some withered apple blossoms in a vase. It seemed to echo the absence. She crossed to it, trailing tapered fingertips across the dried petals and knocking a few to the marble of the tabletop. They crack like porcelain against it. Delicate.
Stepping away from the table, she wanders toward a front sitting room listed off to one side. The doors are open but the furniture is covered in sheets. Like funeral shrouds. There is no one there but a large portrait over the fireplace. A wedding portrait. Smiling.
Lilith forgoes the kitchen and dining room in lieu of the stairs. There's more upstairs than down, and she runs her hand along the banister as she climbs. Eyes catching on the portraits on the wall. Some have Charlie, but many are of her and Lucifer. Happy, holding each other. They make her ache and she has to turn away.
Their bedroom is at the top of the stairs. The door is closed, but when she opens it, there is still no one. Worse, the smell of must, mildew, tells a story. No one has been in here in a long time. Certainly no one SLEEPS here. Of course. Why would he? She steps one foot over the threshold before thinking better of it and retreating back into the hallway. Closing the door once more.
Once upon a time this place had been full of light and life. Servants going about their duties, Charlie running up and down the halls, Lucifer out and about. Now those days seemed so distant and she knew it had been her own doing. She had been the one to ruin that moment, that memory. Everything was broken because of her.
Heels clicking on the ornate tile as she paces along the wide hallways, looking up at dusty drapes and tall windows looking out at the distance of Pentagram City, she wraps both arms around herself. Recognizes she is probably alone here, in what had once been her home. Lucifer's workshop is at the end of the hall, and when she reaches it, she hesitates. What she's expecting to find, she isn't sure, but there's light coming from under the door. It skips her heart up into her throat, leaving her hand trembling as she reaches for the doorknob. Turning it only to have the door pulled open on her instead.
