Chapter 7

The discomfiting feeling instantly dissipated once we got into the house. Awe suffused me. The ornate chandeliers hanging several feet above shone down the enormous, white-painted hall. 

Around, collections of quaint furnitures and elegant sculptures were classically arranged in varying shades of white. Behind a tall flower vase in the middle of the tiled hall, a wide staircase rose up in all its magnificence to split into opposite directions.

Greta climbed up the stairs and turned right. 

Walking along the silver balustrades, we followed as she led into a cavernous hallway. A single chandelier hung down, displaying a riot of exotic oil paintings on the walls. My feet strode on plush red rugs, my eyes soaking up every luxurious detail.

Several twisting hallways and flights of stairs, which I all memorized, led into a narrow hall. The left side of it was lined with tall, elegant vases containing incredibly beautiful flowers, and its walls were co