But they both found their feet stuck to the ground. They were completely unable to leave. A sinister chuckle rang out, “Why it’s much too late for that my Lord, I have the permission of my King.” And with that the three vanished from the room, as if they had never existed.
Next time Ahmed opened his eyes, he was on the floor in a large hall; marbled and gilded, strangely, surrounded by leafy green fronds and vines inches away from his nose. The room was deathly silent. Dazed as he was, Ahmed quickly staggered to his feet and turned around to look for his little cousin. “What the heck have you gotten us into Asfand!” he muttered to himself. Looking around, he found the grand gorgeous hall empty of all life.He walked the perimeter for a bit, but then, having an idea, pushed aside the fronds and peered around them.
To his astonishment, behind the greenery was an even bigger room, a long circular room with a ceiling so high; he could see wispy bits of cloud floating up there. The room was huge in every way, gargantuan and grand, it was decorated in all shades of pink, highlighted with white. The innocent decor was offset by the oppressive emptiness of the place. Its largeness seeming to be germinating shadows on the edges, laying languidly like predators awaiting the arrival of new prey.
He cautiously tried to step through the vines and into the pink room, that was when he encountered the first strange thing. As he tried to step through, the pink room seemed to shrink and start getting further, while his feet seemed stuck to the floor. The more he tried to go through, the harder it seemed to get, just as this horrible realization was dawning on him, he heard the polite clearing of a throat. “Ahem, your excellency, Duke Farahalaram is asking for you, my prince.”
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