That morning Anna felt even more lighthearted than before, despite what had happened last night. She was completely rested up and nearly springing with energy out of bed. She hoped Monsieur Claudin had slept as well, although she doubted it. She'd seen, it seemed, only a glimpse of the pain he'd suffered. She was now more determined than ever to find out what had happened to him.
Still, other things were on her mind that morning, like what was for breakfast. Anna combed her hair roughly with her fingers and tied it tightly back into two braids this time. She had taught herself to do this to keep her hair from getting too dirty. She smoothed down her dress and then stepped out her door, looking warily at Erik's across the thin hall from hers.
She knocked once, twice, reminding her of the night before, making her frown. She heard muffled noises, a thump on the floor, and then footsteps. The door opened inward and Erik looked wearily at her. His mask was not on, and he had dark circles under his good eye.
"Bon matin!" Anna said cheerfully, banishing her frown instantly. "Will you be eating breakfast with me today?" Her hands were clasped politely in front of her.
"You're never going to give up, are you?" Erik muttered, fixing her with a glare. His door closed again, and Anna slumped disappointedly. She waited for a few moments, leaned up against the wall. She stood and paced, she waited in front of the door again. She was about to head to the dining room on her own when the door finally re-opened. Erik was there fully dressed, including his mask, clutching a few francs in his hand.
"Excellent!" Anna chirped, giving him a wide smile. She opened the door to the main room and let him come through, then followed and sat next to the spot he chose on the corner of the table, across from him. His gaze was fixed on the table, and he was silent. The francs were next to her hand, so she supposed he wanted her to order for them. "Monsieur!" she called to the innkeeper. He came over, took the francs from her, and again yelled "CLAUDIA!" in the direction of the kitchen.
Soon the large woman from the night before came out carrying one bowl, and she set it in front of Anna. It appeared to be a bowl of porridge, but she couldn't be sure. Nonetheless, the quality of the food the night before, despite all appearances, had banished all of her doubts about Claudia's culinary skills.
"Need one for your friend?" Claudia asked, gesturing to Erik. Anna nodded and Claudia disappeared into the kitchen, moments later bringing out another steaming bowl and putting it in front of Erik. "Dear, you're so skinny," she cooed at him. "Try and eat it all." She looked over to Anna, who was already spooning the porridge into her mouth, pointedly ignoring the glare Erik had given the sweet cook lady. "You look nice," she said, smiling, then retreated back into the kitchen.
"She didn't even notice your mask, I think," Anna told Erik. He only glanced up at her, and then went back to staring at the table. She sighed, letting her spoon sink into the hot porridge. "Erik, you haven't eaten a thing since almost two days ago –" Anna gasped. She had called him by his first name. She tried to continue without making a deal of it. "A-and… you'll starve if you don't eat… something," she finished lamely, suddenly finding her porridge very interesting to look at.
To her surprise she heard the faint clatter of his spoon, and she looked up to see him taking a small bite. His good eye widened a little, and he took another. The corners of Anna's mouth turned up and she watched him eat another few.
"See?" she said. "It's not so bad." She continued eating her own.
Erik was wondering how long it had been since he'd eaten a good, hot meal. Too long, he thought. He had been missing out on this kind of thing for so long. And this was only a poor inn's porridge, delightfully creamy and delicious though it was. What other delicacies could the world offer his tastebuds? He hadn't even noticed that she'd called him by first name, but that could be because he'd never been beaten into the iron guidelines of society. It was nothing to him.
Anna, while eating, could not help but glance over at the innkeeper. She went unnoticed by him, though, because he was staring intently at Erik, and the expression on his face was not altogether friendly. She noticed also that his hand was twitching a little as he cleaned the bar top. She thought Erik noticed it too.
When they had finished eating, both bowls empty and clean, Erik seemed a little braver. "It's completely improper that you should go about without shoes," he said. "And we each seem only to have a single set of clothing."
"I'm alright in these for the time being," Anna protested mildly.
"No, I've made up my mind," Erik said. "You can get them for yourself, I trust you're capable." He laid a rather large sum of francs down on the table, which Anna took a moment to gawk at. "I can procure my own. I'll find you. I'll let you know where we're going from there."
"Monsieur Claudin, I cannot accept these." She tried to push them back across the table towards him, but he stopped her hand with his. It was still gloved, and it felt cool on hers. She felt her face heat up and butterflies danced in her chest, but she shook away the feeling after he took his hand away. She had never been touched by anyone outside of her family before. It was a little strange.
"Take them, Mademoiselle, I have enough," he assured her. "And now, you should go outside. I have something I must do. I shant be long. Wait in the carriage."
Anna looked at him a moment, wondering what he had to do, but she obeyed quickly, sliding off the bench and heading out the front door. The snow on the ground had melted, although the dirt was still freezing cold against her bare feet. The sky was still brilliantly clear, and the sun cast pale morning sunshine upon the road. It looked a little muddy, and she wondered how easy travel could be in such conditions.
She figured while she was "waiting" she could be useful, so she went over to the stable and led out the horses. She could not do a lot of things, since she hadn't been formally taught most of her life, but she was good with animals. Now she noticed one of the geldings had a white star on its forehead, and the other a strip, as well as fetlocks. She gave them names in her head: Fantôme and Lumineux. Lumineux nuzzled her hand as she led them over and she smiled at him, marveling at how soft and warm a horse's muzzle always was- like velvet.
Anna busied herself feeding them bits and adjusting their bridles, then hooking them to the carriage, fastening everything as efficiently as she could. Erik emerged from the inn just as she had finished, carrying a very grim expression. "Hey," she said. "I've already set them up."
"Thank you."
"I've named them too, if you care to know. Fantôme and Lumineux."
Erik stopped mid-stride, looked at her, shook himself and continued on, hoisting himself up to the driver's seat. Anna stared at him as he went, unconsciously tilting her head to the side. This man is unbearably strange, she thought, to her own embarrassment. I should be thankful! She chided herself for the second time that week. I probably owe him my life. How could I be so selfish?
"Get in," Erik said from his seat. She complied immediately, entering again into that uncomfortable carriage. Since she was not going to sleep this time she didn't know what she could do to entertain herself.
The carriage jerked into motion and Anna started forward, still not used to riding in one. She bumped up and down in her seat with it, keeping her busy for the first 10 minutes as she tried to learn to settle herself and move more easily with it. She was right about the road, being a little muddy, but they got past the muddy part fairly soon and their speed picked up.
"The next city is only a few miles away," Erik told her from the front. "We should be there in only 30 minutes."
"Alright," Anna said, groaning inwardly. 30 minutes with nothing to do. Or perhaps not, she thought, looking out the windows. They had already passed the curve around the forest, and a new landscape was revealed to her. There were longer crop fields here, and irrigation channels, and on the other side, what appeared to be a lake, surrounded by stretches of tall grass. Very far ahead she could just make out a forest, and perhaps the outline of a small city after that.
Watching the landscape fly by filled her with joy, with little reason other than it was her first carriage ride in… well, almost 10 years. Traveling so quickly, with such comparative luxury, it was wonderful to her after so long of living without. She merely stared out the windows of the carriage for the remaining 30 minutes with nothing in her head but my, how beautiful France is…
"No thoughts within her head but thoughts of joy;
no dreams within her heart but dreams of love."
"But Monsieur Claudin, how on Earth are you going to find me? There's a whole big city I could be in!" Anna moaned. Erik was ridiculously stubborn about his ability to find her in a strange place. She could be fairly sure neither of them had been here before and she could be anywhere when the time came. He was nuts!
"It is not so large as Paris. I will find you, trust me. And now, Mademoiselle Devereux, I must take my leave."
"But Monsieur! Ugh!" Erik was already off, confidently striding off and turning a corner and going wherever it was he needed to go. "Okay," Anna sighed. "I'm alone in a strange city- my patron has left for places unknown, claiming he'll find me later- and I have a very large sum of money he demanded I spend on clothing." She paused and looked about, hoping no one was nearby. It was bad enough that she looked like a beggar but had enough money to buy out a store, but if she was seen talking to herself people might cry witch or something.
She was standing by the city stable, that much she could tell, if only by the strong smell of horses. The street seemed to be otherwise composed of houses that shared walls and had flat roofs. Here the cobblestone was burning her feet with the cold, although she was getting rather used to that feeling. She hopped from foot to foot for a moment, then walked briskly off down the street, glancing side to side for any kind of shop, so she could get directions. She had to notice how the buildings seemed to hang over the street, and cast a shadow upon it. That could also, however, be the fault of the huge stone mansion to the east. It creeped her out a little, like it was watching her and following her as she walked the streets.
The first several streets she went down seemed to be purely residential. Several people were walking down them and one or two cast her dirty looks. She took it in stride and pretended not to notice, keeping on until she finally came to a commercial street. Most of the homes here were on the second floor, the first being shops.
The tailor was one of the first shops Anna saw. She headed immediately for that, thankful she had found it so easily. A little bell jangled by the door as she opened it and a girl about her age came to the counter. She took one look at Anna and said "I'm sorry, we don't house beggars."
"Oh, I'm not a beggar," Anna said, smiling widely. "I can pay. I need some new clothes." She swept her hand afront her pathetic excuse for a dress. "As you can see."
The girl squinted at her, folding her hands on the counter. "You have francs?"
Anna nodded. "I said I could pay." She walked up to the counter and placed half the francs Erik gave her on it. The girl's eyes widened significantly. "How much will this buy me?"
"At least… at least five grand outfits…"
"I don't want grand. Just durable. And nice looking. Oh, and some breeches, if you will, with a loose shirt."
The girl looked at her disbelievingly. "The breeches and shirt are to be fitted for you?"
"Well, yes. I need something easy to run in."
"Oh. Well, okay. As long as you can pay." The girl grabbed up Anna's francs as though they would disappear had she left them there any longer. "This is about 10 plainer outfits, including the breeches and shirt. Shall we fit you today?"
"Yes, please."
"My name is Isabel," she said. She opened a drawer, shoved the francs in, and shut it with a dull "thud", then turned around and headed for the door in the wall behind her, gesturing back to Anna. "Come back here."
"Um, alright." Anna followed Isabel in, and she noticed she was shaking a little. It was completely odd to her to be buying her own things, to be acting as though she were an independent lady. She was at this point, she supposed, since Erik seemed so willing to shovel out francs. She didn't know how any of this was supposed to go.
The back room looked like a windstorm had hit it. There was a wooden box in the middle of the floor and a stairwell on the right side, and the walls were lined board-to-board with racks of fabric and boxes of sewing tools, with the exception of one big, ornate mirror. The colors were baffling and bright, ranging from blood red to the softest blue she had ever seen, just looking at it made Anna feel as though she were falling into the sky.
Isabel snapped her out of her trance. "Mademoiselle," she said. "We should choose fabrics. The plainer ones are over here." She gestured to a long rack of fabrics in a few less soft-and-bright colors. They were still rather pretty, though.
"The breeches should just be brown," Anna said. Isabel produced a notepad from nowhere and began writing down what she was saying, which puzzled Anna, since she had thought so few women knew how to read or write. She'd liked being one of the few, even if no one knew it. "The shirt, white, something thick and not likely to tear."
Anna surveyed the fabrics before her and immediately picked out a few of the ones she liked better. "This one," she said, pointing to a dark green brocade fabric, "will be the bodice of one dress. This one can be the skirt." A dark blue cotton. "This one will be the undershirt. This one's the bodice of another…" Anna felt power and happiness surge within her and swell in her chest. She felt a little bad for spending Erik's money so easily, but it was just so nice to be out spending on her own. She doubted many women had an opportunity like hers.
As she listed off the fabrics she wanted and which part she wanted them for, Anna could not keep the smile from her face, and it was still there when she finally left the shop noting in her head to return three weeks later for her outfits. Would they even be in this town for that long? Perhaps Erik wanted her to buy already-made dresses. She decided she would ask him when he "found her" so she could cancel the order early on.
Isabel had given her a map after taking her measurements, and the girl's opinion of Anna seemed significantly bolstered by the end of the visit. Since Anna had only spent half of her francs she wondered what she could do next. She supposed she ought to save a few, so she took half of what she had then and shoved it in her apron pocket. But that still left quite a bit.
Oh yes, shoes! she thought. I don't know how I could forget. The shoe shop was right next to the tailor, so she went right in, wriggling her bare feet on the floor and looking around blissfully at the shoes lining the shelves.
Again, she was greeted rather poorly, but again, she took it gracefully, and when she offered her francs the shopkeeper immediately warmed up to her. He helped her look at a few shoes and try them on, but she decided on some plain brown court-shoe styled ones. They were comfortable and seemed like they would last her a while.
Once she was back on the street in them her feet no longer hurt and she felt as though she could run anywhere. The day was turning out to be rather fantastic. This was what it was like to be wealthy.
I wonder if Erik likes chocolates?Anna mused. I know I do. Perhaps I could buy a few. She glanced over the map, located the store she was by, and then the nearest chocolate shop. It was on the next street over, so she ran. People gave her even more dirty looks, but still, she didn't care and she didn't pay them any attention. Anna sprinted up the street, her new shoes clacking delightfully, around the bend and down the next street to the chocolate shop. When she stopped in front of it her chest was heaving and her face was colored from exhilaration. Rarely did she run so much or so quickly. It was fun.
The chocolate shop, too, had a little bell. She smiled up at it when she went in. This time she got an immediately warm greeting.
"Hello!" the girl at the counter said. She was very pretty, Anna saw, just what she wanted to look like, and even what she thought Erik's betrothed would look like. Hair as deep brown and wavy as the chocolate she sold, and eyes to match. Skinny waist, pale skin, full lips. "My name is Cecile. Are you here to look? To buy for yourself, or for someone else?" Her smile was brilliant.
"This is the first kind greeting I've had today," Anna said conversationally. Her shoulders relaxed for the friendly atmosphere. She sidled up to the counter, surveying the delicacies displayed on silver trays upon it. "Everything looks wonderful," she said.
Cecile giggled, and it sounded as light and airy as the bell on the door. "I made it," she said. "So, thank you."
"Certainly."
There were all manner of sweets on display- white chocolate, turtles, cherry crèmes and bonbons. They were arranged carefully on every tray to show off each ones' color and design and contrast it to the one beside.
"I can't choose," Anna said, exasperated. "Do you just have an assorted box?"
"Of course," Cecile said. She picked a dark brown square box from the shelf behind her and set it on the counter. "It's twelve franks, s'ilvous plait." She then leaned over the counter and whispered conspirationally to Anna, like what she was about to say was a national secret. "Could you come in sometimes just to talk? Girls my age never do, and the only boys are usually already infatuated with someone else."
Anna blinked, surprised. "Well, alright, if you'd like me to." She would have said then that she had to go, but she didn't know how or when Monsieur Claudin was going to find her. Nonetheless, she wanted to see what else there was to see in the city, and get herself used to the layout of it. Cecile was sad to see her go already but Anna promised to visit her soon. She took up the box on the counter and left, giggling at the tiny bell like she and it had some kind of inside joke.
Although she planned to still go about for a while longer, she heard someone call "Mademoiselle Devereux," behind her, and when she turned, Erik was there. He was considerably more dressed up now, in a heavy black cloak over a white dress shirt and vest. Was he already finished with his business? She hadn't thought she took that long, but she didn't know how much time passed in the tailor's. She glanced up to check the sun, but the buildings blocked her view of it, so she looked back to Erik.
"So, you found me." She managed to laugh a little, although she was more stunned than anything else. "How did you do that?" Anna hadn't seen him there when she was inside the chocolate shop, and he seemed to appear from thin air once she left it. It sent a chill up her spine.
"I have my ways," Erik said quietly. "Regardless, I've found a place for us to stay."
"Oh? Where?"
He gestured upwards, towards the huge mansion Anna had noticed earlier. She gasped.
"We're not really staying there, are we? Is it…"
Erik quieted her with a finger to his lips. "The owner is… away."
"Oh," Anna said. "So, we're… 'borrowing' it." She had done that before. She had no qualms with it, although she thought Erik probably had enough to buy the whole place.
"In a manner of speaking, yes. We should go. Now. Come along." Erik turned quickly, his cloak billowing out behind him. Anna thought how often she followed people into places these days.
Erik led her through a rather roundabout way to the mansion, curiously without a map or any means of telling direction, through various unpaved alleyways and back roads. She could only guess why he wanted to be so secretive before they got anywhere near the mansion. The route, however, turned out to be faster than she thought it would be. They came to the forest that went around and to the back of the mansion rather quickly, and trekked quickly through it for a while until they came around the back. Just as Anna's legs were beginning to ache, Erik showed her to a hole in the stone wall that ran around the length of the estate, which was completely unattended for a very long time, judging by how overgrown it was. Erik had probably hacked a way through it recently, it being clear, and he let her through before following her in.
There was a long stairwell that came up to the still grand, but less so than the front, entrance. Anna wondered if she would have to come through this way every time she wanted to go to the town. It would get quite bothersome after a while. Erik opened the door for her, and they went together into the mansion.
The first hall they entered into was ridiculously high-ceilinged and it looked like it ran through to the front entrance. It was carpeted by a long, scarlet rug fringed by gold, and there were several large bookcases along the wall, as well as a whole lot of doorways. The walls were a golden-brown color with a certain sheen to them. Obviously the whole place was obscenely expensive. Anna rethought Monsieur Claudin's ability to buy it.
"So, should I just find my own room…?" Anna asked him. They were traveling together, but that by no means meant that they had to know where the other was at every moment. And, by the display in town that day, Anna no longer thought Erik would have any trouble finding her should he want to.
He looked over at her like he'd never been asked such a thing before, but he quickly regained his composure and nodded briefly. "Every facility of this place is open for your use," he told her, "and any room is yours to enter and use, except for mine."
"Understood, Monsieur."
"Good. Make yourself comfortable. We'll likely be here for a while."
"Three weeks?" Anna asked hopefully.
"Probably."
"And may I come and go as I please?"
Erik paused at this, seeming to consider for a few moments, before nodding. "Just be sure to use the back way."
Anna's spirits fell a little, her having to trek through the forest every day being exactly what she'd feared, but she smiled anyway, supposing she should be thankful that they had a mansion to stay in at all.
"Any other questions?" Erik asked her, tilting his head. She replied in the negative, so he turned and started off down the hall, leaving it through one of the doors, curiously as though he already knew the place.
Anna sighed and entered the second door on her left, which turned out to be a rather large study, and a door on the corner was marked with a gold plate that read "Library". Excitedly, Anna ran across the room, ignoring the fine calligraphy tools and other items a study might have, and burst into the library, gasping at what she saw.
If this room did not take up half the space of the mansion she did not know what else would fill it, for the ceiling was higher even than the hallway's, and was painted to look like the night sky, dark navy blue glittering with stars, and complete with a glowing crescent moon. Up to that ceiling there were towering bookcases stuffed to the brim with, of course, books, but also various trinkets, like a model sailboat on one and what seemed to be a letter in a glass case on another. There were books scattered on tables and open on chairs and sheaves of paper littering the floor. Decorated elaborately with scarlet couches, chairs, dark mahogany tables with oil lamps, gold borders and pillows and linings with a breathtaking combination of rich colors, this was quite possibly the grandest place Anna had seen in her entire life. It would not surprise her if it contained the history of the entire world and everything in it.
She wanted desperately to stay in that room for the rest of the day and merely explore every corner of it, but she knew she had to stake out a bedroom before evening. There were sure to be many in a place this huge.
So, Anna reluctantly left the library, swearing she would return to it at the soonest convenient moment, and the next door she went in (the third on the left) seemed to be a guest wing. The first room had a table and comfortable-looking cushioned seats, presumably for congregating.
The rooms leading off of it led to bathrooms and bedrooms, the latter of which she chose the one to the far right. Each bedroom had a color theme, and the one she picked was green. Dark green walls, a cream-colored canopy over forest-green bedsheets with a chestnut frame, and a green cloth over the table. Anna wondered if this place would have a bathtub. Most likely it would.
Next she wondered how Erik expected her to keep out of his rooms if she didn't know where they were, but somehow she felt she'd discover that soon enough. Her feet were itching to run through the halls, and that was just what she left her room to do. What would her excuse be for bursting in on him?
Well, Anna thought, there's always the chocolates
Author Comments: I'm predicting a bit of a writer's block for a while seeing as this chapter was about five-thousand words, and I have the LEAP test to work for... Can't be staying up to 1 in the morning every day typing this stuff, can I? Sorry guys!