Chapter 5
She was so glad that he had let her into the castle! She had been worried when he had gone silent…she had noticed that he was studying her appearance and she had inwardly cringed, not at the stare but at what he would find. She knew she was unattractive, she was chubby, too short, had awkward proportions, and an ugly face to sum it all up. She, to ease her nerves, had taken the chance to observe him as well. He was quite attractive in an unconventional way. He was thin, sallow, tall and angular but, in her opinion, handsome nonetheless… her train of the thought was suddenly broken by the voice of the man.
"You can leave your bags here and follow me to the dining room."
Sophie quickly complied and set her suitcases down, having to jog to catch up with his long strides.
As she followed the man she noticed two things. Firstly, the butler was a hunchback but, from what she could discern, the hunch was artificial…now why would he wear a fake hunch she silently asked herself. Secondly, Sophie realized that the castle was not only extremely large but it was also rather sparsely decorated aside from the entrance room; every hallway he took her down was solely lined with a single red rug. Yet, every hall was framed with a multitude of doors. I wonder how many rooms there are in this place Sophie mused as she began to count.
What seemed like ages passed as she was led down corridor after corridor. She was tempted to ask the butler how much longer it would be before they reached their destination when he abruptly stopped, causing her to bump into him.
She watched as he flinched from the contact and felt immediate regret towards her actions…she surely didn't wish to bring him discomfort.
"We are here now madam," he stated as he slowly opened the door.