Door Unseen

Mathew stared at the woman with a indifferent expression. He wasn't shocked by her words. In fact, they were less insulting than what he had imagined. He was almost bemused by her watered down remarks. After a life in the higher districts, Mathew was used to and braced himself for something much, much worse.

Staring at the woman for a few moments, Mathew felt an intensity in her gaze, and frowned.

'Those eyes,'

Within her eyes was a gaze he was al too familiar with. A disgusting, and despised gaze. And it was that of someone of higher birth, looking down on those below. It sickened him to hi core.

'I hate those eyes!'

But compared to the intensity he was used to, the gaze of the woman was not as unwanted. In fact, Mathew felt an urge to toy with the woman. Doing such a thing had been unthinkable to him. Suicidal in fact.

He averted his gaze, as a slight grin tugged at his lips. The thrill of the very idea burned in him. Oh, what would it feel like to wipe that smug and entitled expression off her face he wondered.

'Should I play along then?'

Wiping away the grin, he looked at the woman with a now indifferent expression and asked in his most irritating tone.

"You're not beautiful enough for me to consider that, sorry."

Mathew's words seemed to shock the beautiful woman to her very core. She shifted her gaze, contempt and disdain filling her eyes as she looked him over and asked, her voice barely concealing the tremor of disbelief.

"Wh-what did you say?"

Mathew chuckled as he watched a flush spread across her cheeks.

"Didn't hear what i said princess?"

"I asked you, what did you say?"

Mathew chuckled louder His mocking reaching a crescendo. Unable to hold himself back he burst into a fit of laughter. After nearly a minute, he smiled politely, turned around, and walked forward. The woman's brows shot up and her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

"Excuse me? Are you seriously walking away from me? Do you not realize who I am?"

Mathew paused mid-step and let out a quiet sigh.

"Not really. But, don't worry, I think I've got a pretty good idea,"

Tilting his head, Mathew knowingly rubbed his chin and then with a mask of calm indifference, he greeted her with a warm smile and said.

"Ah! That's right. I remember wo you are now. You're an arrogant bitch right?"

Her expression went from irritated, to enraged. But the young cynic wasn't done. He pressed on with a mock-apologetic smile.

"Don't take it the wrong way, though. I mean, it's impressive in its own way, being that memorable for all the wrong reasons. You must be so proud. But unfortunately, I don't have the time to waste on you."

Without giving her a chance to respond, he offered a mockingly courteous bow.

"Goodbye, and have a lovely day."

Stunned to silence by Mathew's words the proud beauty could do nothing but stare at his back as he strutted off. Unable to contain her rising frustration as her eyes became glazed over with fury she yelled.

"You're nothing but a poor nobody! How dare you!"

Without turning back, he answered.

"I get that you're an entitled brat, but could you do that somewhere else? It's really quite sad to see you act like this."

Shooting him a look of pure venom. She spun on her heel. Their tips clicked sharply against the ground as she stormed off with long, purposeful strides. Her head held high despite the anger radiating off her.

Before disappearing down the path illuminated by gemstones, she said in a flat, but hateful tone.

"I hope you die down here."

Mathew grinned darkly.

'I hope you don't, princess.

***

A few hours passed and all Mathew accomplished, was aimlessly wander the seemingly endless cobblestone halls. Every corner he turned, in every path, all he saw were walls, walls, and more walls. Not a single door, room, or even hole anywhere to be seen.

This trial was nothing short of a nightmare for Mathew. Now hours had passed without food or water, and the effects were painfully evident. His movements had become labored. Not enough to hamper his journey, but still enough to be noticed.

If nothing changed soon-no..., he couldn't think of that right now. He had to do was keep moving.

Many more hours passed. However long it was, he had lost track of time a while ago. His vision grew hazy, and he struggled to remember what direction he had come from. The walls seemed to move and flow right in front of him. The lights flickered in and out of view and the colors drained into shades of gray.

The hunger had gnawed at him for hours, twisting his stomach, and thoughts, into knots. At this point, reality almost felt like an illusion in his eyes.

Just when he thought despair would consume him, something shifted in his hazy vision. The outline of something came into view. He took a hesitant step forward. and as he moved closer, that faint outline took shape.

Revealing, a door?

'What the?'

What the, indeed. Not only was the hunger getting to him, now he was seeing things. Mathew rubbed his eyes and looked again. But the scene did not change. Which now begged the question. Was he actually seeing a door? Something about this, felt strange.

Leaning against a wall, he began to wonder. 

'Is my mind playing tricks on me now?'

Taking a cautious step closer, he squinted at the door. Despite his reservations, It was an ordinary door. From what he could tell, there weren't any signs of traps signs of recent use, or anything, unusual. Well, as unusual as something could be in this world at least.

Yet, he could feel an invisible, and inexplicable pull drawing him toward it.

It was clear that this door hadn't been used for many years. Perhaps even decades. And ever since it came into view, Mathew felt a nagging at the back of his mind. Someone, or something was watching him.