It was the soft humming that woke Rosemary up from her nightmares. She'd dreamed of her man, a dragon, and people made out of glass, black blood dripping down their fronts. The glass people were chasing after her, trying to cut her in pieces, trying to make her one of them. The man was calling out to her, but his voice was everywhere at once; he was slowly slipping away from her. As she sat up from her cot, her head a bit dizzy, her breathing ragged, the humming stopped.
A lady came up to her; Rosemary didn't back away, either from exhaustion or confusion she couldn't tell. She knows this woman. Yesterday...
"Oh, darling, you're awake! I was beginning to worry you were dead." Her voice was warped in Rosemary's ears like she was hearing the words through a barrier of water.
Rosemary gave her a startled look. But the maid went on, not seeming to notice Rosemary's reaction. "You caused quite a ruckus for us yesterday, miss," Seraphina began, continuing to make her bed and fluff the pillows. "Master was indeed furious."
The young girl doesn't know what to say. Why was this lady acting so friendly with her when she'd was being a menace to them just hours ago? This was a trick, Rosemary was sure of it. After the maid removed her cuffs, Rosemary's memories became a little fuzzy; she didn't remember much after that. She was only aware that someone was half carrying her down a dark hallway. And then there was a sharp pain at her temple.
That freaked her out a little. Did they do something to her, went back on their act of kindness and attacked her to teach her a lesson for misbehaving? Rosemary shuddered at the thought.
The maid went over to her vanity, a gorgeous mahogany stand with vials and bottles scattered about. Some of the bottles seem familiar, a distant memory. Rosemary looked at the table; something seems off. But she couldn't put her finger on it. Was something missing?
"When you came into my room yesterday, you had quite the episode, my dear," said the maid, dusting the bottles and vials with precision. "You began to thrash around, banged your poor head on this table here and fainted." She pointed to a spot on the table's surface. "Let me see your face, by the way. I helped reduce the swelling last night but you can't be too careful. Come, miss." The maid beckoned Rosemary to come sit on the chair in front of the vanity. The girl eyed the lady and the table. After deciding that they couldn't do her any harm, at least not the maid, Rosemary gingerly made her way over.
Pressure on her feet made her look down; someone had wrapped bandages around her ankles. She'd also noticed them around her wrists. Spots of red dotted the white bandages, some bright, others a dark crimson. They reek of iron.
"Go on, sit. It's not like the chair's going to turn to life."
Peculiar, thought Rosemary. The maid tried to make small talk to Rosemary as she inspected the girl's wounds, changing the bandages, applying cream, and whatnot.
At one point, she gave Rosemary a curious look and said, "You don't talk much do you?" Rosemary just shook her head, she couldn't even talk if she wanted to. Her vocals cords didn't want to work, she decided the night before. But that didn't stop the maid from chatting away like they were old pals that haven't seen each other in eons.
Rosemary found out that the maid was named Seraphina, Seraphina Lune. She was a maid at the Treesworth Mansion, whatever that meant, and that two of her closest friends were also here. "You've meant them yesterday if you remember."
She did; it wasn't a pleasant memory.
When asked her name, Rosemary simply just stared at Seraphina for a few seconds before letting out a warbled sort of sound. The maid gave a small chuckled, "You are a strange one. Well, let's get you dressed. Master had requested your presence in his study by noon. We don't want to keep him waiting." Noon? That seems a little late. Rosemary scanned the room for a clock; there was one on a nightstand beside the recently made bed. 10:28.
In just a short time, Seraphina washed, brush, and dressed Rosemary. She was given a plain, white cloth dress, and slippers.
It was such a nice feeling, to feel clean and fresh and new. Her bandages were redone; Rosemary noticed Seraphina squirm when she was exposing the raw and bruised skin for cleaning, although she didn't give it much thought as to why. She tried to remember if whether or not she flinched the first time when she changed the tourniquets.
Maybe she was just nervous because it was fifteen minutes until noon time?
"There you go, miss," Seraphina said cheerfully, her voice a bit too high, She gently fastened the bandages around Rosemary's ankles; not too tight nor lose. "Master awaits. Come along now."
Seraphina led Rosemary down the twisting halls and corridors of the house. Even though she was scared out of her wits, she couldn't help herself admiring the house (she assumed it was a house) and getting lost in her thoughts.
The halls were decorated with a lot of marble and stone and portraits. They were marvelous to look at; the stone and marble statues and the vivid portraits. She found herself looking at a huge family portrait, about twice her height, hanging on to left wall. It showed her a happy family: a diplomatic father wearing various colored medallions standing next to a lovely woman in a black, high collared long coat with bell-shaped sleeves. They were standing behind a white couch, their arms around each other, looking down fawningly at three little kids on the couch, all boys.
Seraphina explained it was the late masters and their three boys. That much was pretty obvious, Rosemary wanted to say. Rosemary smiled a little. Is this the family that owns the house? She then remembers the predicament that she was in, like for the fourth time, and instantly felt disgusted with herself. She frowned, averting her eyes quickly, and continued following the maid. They two women passed an eerily dark room; it gave Rosemary the chills. Before she could stop to inspect the depressing room, Seraphina snapped her fingers and told the girl to hurry up, it was seven minutes until noon.
They passed a window. Rosemary had to do a double take. Outside was beautiful. She knew she was a Lunar; it was a nagging feeling in her chest that told her that she was. But she did doubt herself. The gorgeous view outside eliminated all of that doubt. Endless stars glowed beyond the towering buildings, sparkling the sky in their brilliance. The city far below was filled with moving dots interacting with each other. People, Rosemary reminded herself. They look like ants.
Rosemary pondered on the view, something seems off. But that's a thought for later.
They turned a corner, and Seraphina staggered back a step, bumping into Rosemary. Rosemary flinched back, holding her nose, eyes glaring at Seraphina and the intimidating man in front of them.
"Master! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there. I was just retrieving the girl to you, as you've requested." Rosemary tried to look up at the man, and back away, moving to hide behind the maid like she was some sort of shield. She cursed herself for being so weak.
The man was so tall, so tall that she was afraid to raise her head and look into his face; he was at least a foot taller than her. Even though she couldn't see his face, she knew he was looking at her. His eyes, those eyes were piercing into her, she just knew it. Even behind the maid she still could feel his eyes going through her.
This man was dangerous, she could feel it in her bones.
"Um, miss?" Seraphina moved aside. Curse her to the earth and back.
Rosemary shot daggers at the man, despite herself trembling from her head to her toes. She must look like a frightened puppy.
"Yes, thank you, Sera," came the man's low rumble of a voice. Rosemary glanced over to the maid; she was wearing an apologetic smile, like the one she wore when they first met. Rosemary hated that smile.
Seraphina quickly looked at the floor, a blush creeping across her cheeks. "Yes, master. She'll be in your care now." She bowed at the man before scurrying off. Rosemary watched the maid as she turned the corner and speed walk down the corridor, her footsteps fading as she shrinks away.
"Come."
His voice snapped her head back towards him, her heartbeat racing and her breathing loud in the silence.
She could run away right now. She should run away right now, she told herself over and over again. But she doesn't trust her legs; they still ache from the day before. She was so weak, she knew it. She wouldn't even run three feet before her feet collapsed under her. So she followed the man, keeping a safe distance between him and her in case something happens.
It was a quiet and unsettling walk, each step leading Rosemary further into the unknown. Pictures lined the walls, like in the last hall; except this time, the man in the military uniform and the woman in the black coat didn't appear in any of the portraits. It was just the three boys, but they were grown up in the pictures. She remembered Seraphina saying that they died seven years ago, their deaths unknown. Rosemary recognized one of the boys in the pictures as the man in front of her. He was taller than the others so Rosemary assumed he was the oldest.
The eyes in the paintings seem to follow her as she walked down the hall. Don't think about them! she growled out in her head, resisting the urge to slap her cheeks. You're just being paranoid. Calm down.
A few minutes passed and she couldn't take it anymore. She kept glancing at the paintings and the broad back of her captor, the heels of his shoes making a deafening click click click. It's driving her insane. Her heart was beating too hard, too loud to be ignored. Sweat was dripping down her face, her chest, her arms, and legs. She glanced over her shoulder, eyeing the welcoming corridor and its strange familiarity. She slowed her steps as the man continued to stride forward. Rosemary hoped he was stupid enough to trust her to just continue to follow him. Unfortunately, he was not. Just when she was about to make a run for it, the man's voice cut through the silence.
She cursed herself for being so weak for the nth time.
"I'm a bit disappointed." Despite herself, Rosemary scoffed. What did he, mister powerful and intimidating, have to be disappointed in?
"I'd expected you to put up a fight. After your little scene," he said that word coldly like it was a cursed word, "yesterday, I would have thought you'd challenge me, not follow me silently for ten minutes." He spoke as him they were familiar with each other. Rosemary shuddered, not wanting to believe that once in the past they were acquaintances. She doesn't know much about him, but she does know that he was the one who gave the orders to take her, it was a gut feeling.
He stopped in front of a door. It was identical to Seraphina's door. A guard stood beside the door, a menacing looking gun in his hands.
"This will be your new room from now on. After the incident yesterday, Sera and I agreed that keeping you in that.. other room was not the wisest choice in keeping an eye on you. Sera has agreed to share the room with you to attend to your needs and necessities." He nodded at the guard who then promptly opened the door. The "master" then looked at Rosemary, eyeing her up and down like she was a broken mannequin. "She must trust you enough to not put you in chains," he took a step closer to the smaller girl. "Or she's just naive. Don't pull that stunt again, for Sera's sake. Lincoln, please see to it that the girl settles down nicely. Sera will be with you shortly."
Rosemary stopped listening to his words after she heard Seraphina's name. She was beginning to think she could trust the maid, as ridiculous as it seems. She was this man's accomplice, her enemy; she would always be the enemy. She felt disappointed herself for her stupidity.
She let the guard, Lincoln, lead her into her new room, her new prison.
Slowly, she promised herself. She would escape slowly. When the doors closed, and the soft click of the lock was heard, Rosemary went over to her new bed, a million thoughts coursing through her mind.
Author's Note: It's winter break! No school! No homework! I'm immensely happy right now; I finally get to sleep TUT