Murder in the Ballroom

My footsteps echoed on the floor as I rushed into the ballroom. Lying in the centre of the room, wearing her grandmother’s wedding dress, was Sydney. My heart began thumping deafeningly against my chest, willing me to run faster. I fell beside her body, praying, hoping for a miracle. But there was none.

Her eyes were open, staring without seeing at the elaborate carvings on the ceiling.

“No. No, no, no. Come on, Sydney. Get up.”

I pulled at my former enemy’s limp arm, internally screaming for any form of response. Candles flickered around us and shadows jumped out from every corner. My heart was racing and my entire body shook each second that I spent there, “Please, Sydney. Please. Don’t leave me.” There was no sign of life from those pale, delicate fingers or the usually glistening eyes on her beautiful face. A voice in my head told me, what a waste. Dead before she could even begin living. And it’s all your fault.

I collapsed on top of her, silently begging for something, anything, but I was much too late. There was no pulse. I couldn’t save her.

I began shaking, regret and denial echoing through my mind. Tears ran down my face as I failed to rise from the cold, stone floor. In my mind I heard a laugh, a cold, high-pitched laugh. Shivers coursed down my spine as the laughter resonated around me, as if my imagination had come to life. I sprang to my feet and spun around, searching for its owner. Goose bumps appeared on every part of my body as it continued to echo around the high-ceilinged room. “Show yourself, you coward.” The screeching laughter halted at my words, leaving an eerie silence to fill the room. The full moon peered from behind a cloud and shone a ray of light through the single circular window, hitting the side of Sydney’s murderer’s face. She stepped further into the light, allowing me to see her true form. I immediately recognised the no longer symmetrical face, one side beautiful as any, the other a melted mess from my nightmares.

“What did you call me?” the hideously burned face hissed. “Me? A coward? You were the one who ran away from that fire, Jade, who are you to call me a coward?”

“You can’t use that against me anymore, Sera. There was nothing I could have done. Nothing.”

“You could have saved me,” the demonic mouth sneered. “Saved me like you tried to save her tonight.” The scalded face nodded towards Sydney’s lifeless body, allowing the moonlight to shine directly on Sera’s destroyed neck. The flawless skin that she was once so proud of was now repellent; I cringed away at the sight of the deep burns. She caught me staring at her and instantly covered her neck with her hands. “Disgusting, isn’t it?” Her fingers began clawing at her skin as if she could rip away the tortured scars, “Absolutely hideous. Look at what has become of me.”

She took a few transfixed steps closer to me as if wishing we were still as identical as the day we were born. Her hand reached out to stroke my cheek as she edged closer, and all I could do was watch the anguish within her grey eyes harden. They were the only things about her that still resembled me but the agony within them was so much more than I could ever fathom. My twin sister removed her hand from my face and I could only stare blankly as her hand flew towards me as if in slow motion.

With a sudden smack to break the silence, I fell to the floor.





A/N: So this is just a sample from a story I've been thinking of writing. Anyone got any advice or views as to how I should carry on? Thank you :) x