Author's Notes: Yay!!! Hello, I'm ba-ack Ok, I know I've been gone so long but then when I wrote the second chapter I just kept deleting it over and over. Not to mention this year...oops, I mean last year was the year when I'd to take this major exam. Yup. O-levels. A real nightmare. Glad I'm over and done with that.
Anyway, I need to thank you guys for your reviews! Thank you!! Here's chapter 2! We're still at the tip of the iceburg. The action hasn't started yet but we'll be starting to see some soon. I hope.
Eriol stared at the daunting height of the stack of papers before him. Complaints of dissatisfaction and reports from both within and without the movement were awaiting his utmost attention. I didn't sign up as boss just so that I could be greeted by this titanic amount of paperwork… Eriol sighed and enviously eyed the fireplace, wondering if he should chuck the whole stack of papers into it and let the greedy fires devour the source of his trouble. Eriol stared at the daunting height of the stack of papers before him. Complaints of dissatisfaction and reports from both within and without the movement were awaiting his utmost attention. Eriol sighed and enviously eyed the fireplace, wondering if he should chuck the whole stack of papers into it and let the greedy fires devour the source of his trouble.
"Or maybe not," he sighed again and reached for the first piece, a report of how things were going on in the business section of the group, when a knock sounded on the door to his private study. Glad for the sudden interruption, Eriol tossed the crumpled report aside, giving his attention to the person outside his study instead. "Yes?"
"Hiiragizawa-sama?" The head of a brunette popped in from the frame of the door. Eriol didn't recognise the maid; then again, he'd quite a number of people working under him in his house. If he'd to remember every single one of their faces, he'd soon forget his own. "The girl has awoken. Your orders?"
Taking this precious chance to excuse himself from the overwhelming work on his desk, Eriol hurried out the room, closing the door behind him. "It's okay, I'll take things from here. Remember, I'd no choice but to leave my study so that I could see how the girl is doing. When Syaoran-kun comes, tell him that."
As he raced to the rooms, events of the day where he'd laid claim on the girl came back to his mind. Sonomi had been behaving desultorily; half the time she looked like she wanted to murder the girl and the other half of the time, she seemed bored to death.
"You seem restless…what exactly has this girl done to you?"
"She took something away…something dear to me." Sonom's eyes hardened; she looked away, not wanting him to broach the topic any further.
"Oh? Was it some jewellery your deceased husband gave you?" he goaded; it would be interesting to see to what extent he could push the famous Daidouji matron.
She snapped, unable to take his relentless pushing. "It was priceless!" she hissed, her lips drawn back into a feral snarl. "She destroyed an invaluable object; and it cannot be brought back- ever!"
When he entered the room where she was kept, he could dimly make out two figures struggling with someone. Making his way towards the bed, he realised that the maids were trying to get the girl he'd brought back with him to settle down. A thorough failure it was, considering that the girl's thrashing about was incessant.
When one of the maids- the shorter one- discovered that the Master of the Household was present, she forcefully dropped her hands to her sides and greeted him with a stiff voice. She was worried that Eriol would admonish her for treating their houseguest so poorly.
"Why are the lights dimmed?" he asked as the second maid gasped and let go of the girl so that she could bow her head in respect.
"Her eyes aren't used to the glaring lights yet," the taller one explained; her gaze turned to the girl who had finally stopped flailing and instead, opened her eyes a crack to study the room she was in.
Dismissing the two ladies with an expansive wave of his hand, he pulled a leather chair with a gilded frame from a desk and sat on it the opposite way; with his chest facing the back of the chair. He propped his chin on the back of his hand and gave her an appraisal. Her condition had improved dramatically, much to his surprise. A healthy hue had returned to her cheeks and the bruises that once adorned her skin were now mere shadows.
"What's your name?" he asked airily, even though he knew that she wouldn't speak just yet. She would most likely be feeling wary or every single thing around her, including him. "I'm Eriol. Eriol Hiiragizawa, master of the house. I brought you here a few days ago. When you live under this roof, food and lodging is provided but don't you dare think that I'll allow a freeloader to stay long. You're to find a job as fast as it takes and start working a.s.a.p."
The girl kept on looking to her right, blatantly ignoring Eriol who was sitting on her left, which irked him quite a bit. Calming himself down with thoughts such as 'oh, she's just wondering where she is' and 'this is her first time here so obviously she'd want to find out more about her surroundings' did not work but he still thought them anyway.
Her eyes finally turned…and met his squarely. There was a dare in her eyes; a dare to do something. What, he didn't know. Not yet. Now that he had her attention, his slack expression turned into a stern countenance. It was time to get over the introductions and formalities. "You belong to me now. And if you don't do as I say, I could kill you anytime I like." He rose from the chair and walked out the room, turning his head back before he lost sight of her. "So you'd best make yourself useful, my dear."
She had no idea where she was. Only one thing was for sure- she was no longer in that dark place which confined her and suppressed all thoughts and hopes into its darkest corners. Whether she had been let out into the light or whether she'd been brought to another residence was unknown.
At first she'd been frightened; the numbness she'd always felt was gone, replaced by a slight soreness and when she opened her eyes, the sudden blinding light glaring at her from the ceiling didn't help mollify the situation. Her eyes had hurt so much and she'd tried to gesture to the two ladies beside her to stop the light from shining but due to communication problems, it took her quite a while to get her request across. By that time, she'd been rather agitated and had started asking them where her mother was but speaking was difficult, she realised, as she had not used her voice for a long time.
The agitation escalated into a struggle when she tried to get out of the bed to take a look around. The two ladies had forced her back down into a recumbent position and throughout all the waving and thrashing about, she wasn't able to study the room she was in.
Now, she could only be wary of any surprises hiding round the corner. Mother could have planned all this; she was never sure of what Mother had up her sleeves.
Just be careful and keep everything to yourself…When Mother planned games for her, she had no choice but to follow the flow and participate in the games. If this was one of them, she had no choice but to play along. All she had to do was follow the instructions of the games.
All she had to do was follow the orders and then maybe the nightmares would stop
The Master of the household didn't grace the houseguest with his presence for the next two weeks. Instead, orders were given to the butler to instruct the servants on how to groom and prepare the girl for her life in the Hiiragizawa Manor (of course, nothing about the girl being taken from the home of the famed Sonomi Daidouji was told to the servants). It was at times like these that the lady-in-waiting played an important role.
Not only was an attendant able to hear about many gossips from the lips of the 'lady to whom she is attending' to, she 'd also be able to influence the lady to whom she attended to a great extent. The butler, taking pity on the new girl who had been brought back in a most unkempt appearance, had decided to choose a cheerful, vivacious girl to be her attendant. Maybe then, the new girl would be brought out of her silent shell.
With animated green eyes and short hair, this attendant was known to be a chatterbox (who wouldn't shut up even if one took the pains to sew up her lips) who talked about anything and everything in particular. Hence, when she found out that the 'lady to whom she is attending' never once opened her mouth since the time she'd arrived, this twenty-two-year-old attendant was rather disappointed.
"Now, what's your name?" she asked the silent beauty. "I'm Saya and I'm here to help you decide on what you wanna do in the future."
That's right…that bespectacled man wanted me to find work…The amethyst-eyed girl sat up slowly. It seems that nobody's going to tell me where I am…but it beats being in there again.
Being in the dark for too long had hurt her eyes the same way being tortured for a vast period of time had turned her into a reticent doll.
"Well, anyway, come sit over here so I can brush your hair. Master Hiiragizawa doesn't like people who say in bed all day."
Not like he would even know whether I'm still sleeping or not, seeing as to how he hasn't even been to this room.
Saya threaded a burgundy brush through the splits and tangles in the girl's hair, patiently cajoling them to unravel into straightened, silky, dark locks. "You've got wonderful hair, Miss; they seem to be disentangling themselves…like magic," she added as an afterthought. Looking down at the girl's closed hands, she commented, "You've got slender fingers, too. Do you play the piano? Master Hiiragizawa does."
Silence.
"Oh well, I guess not. What a waste. I bet your fingers are nimble, too. You must be good at sewing. I never really was good at that; used to prick myself before I even started stitching."
Silence.
Saya, although a little unnerved, couldn't stop herself from talking. A bad habit, really. "You know," she began, "You should say something or I'll feel stupid; it's like I'm talking to myself." Touching the wavy locks of hair which gradually twisted into gentle curls, Saya whistled enviously; wishing she had hair just like that. Oh, and fingers, too.
"How about smiling? You could try doing that." Saya combed the hair together into a thick ponytail. Smiling wistfully, she absentmindedly said, "You remind me of an enigmatic beauty bathing in all her splendour; never wanting to reveal herself to others. How romantic," she added after a moment's pause, and sighed, thinking back to the last time she got caught up in one of her romance novels.
The girl's eyes remained fixed ahead of her, staring at the reflection of her eyes in the mirror, which stared back at her. And the emptiness she saw drew her in until she was no longer listening to Saya's nonsensical words. The maid behind her was busily talking about how Master Hiiragizawa was great at designing their uniform; servants' uniforms were usually a dull black and white but those under Hiiragizawa donned creatively designed uniforms which gave the two dull colours an exquisiteness about themselves.
"Designer."
The word was spoken so softly that Saya thought that she'd misheard. The girl…was actually talking? Her hands, which were about to tie up the ponytail with a mauve lacy ribbon, stopped in mid-air.
"Huh?" she asked, tilting her head down beside the girl's so that she could better hear her. "I'm not sure if I was hallucinating but did you say something?"
"These...ugly, clumsy fingers of mine," the girl said throatily, her voice had become slurred after having not been used for a sizeable amount of time but Saya was able to make out her words. Even the slight pauses in between her sentences did not hinder the attendant from understanding the girl. "You said…I could sew. Is it true?"
"Ugly? Clumsy? Excuse me, but your fingers are the total opposite of them!"
"I…could I become someone who makes clothes?" her fingers were trembling badly. Why? Saya wondered. "I…design then make them."
Saya carefully examined the girl's expression and only saw a void. Within the girl was only layer after layer of unending emptiness. Not sure how to react, Saya put on a falsely cheerful facade. In times like these, only cheerfulness could help ease the tension in the air. "You want to be a designer? Fantastic!" Saya cheered her on as positively as she could. Part of her wanted to see the girl put her artistic talent to use…that is, if the girl did have any artistic talent. That statement still needed evidence before it could become a fact.
"Then, I'd like to become one…and bring my creations to life." A final declaration. The first one she'd made in many, many years. And this was the beginning of the girl's many determinations.
"By the way, now that you're finally able to converse with me, what's your name?"