(Woo! More readers! . sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out. I've been on vacation before summer session starts and I was not well.)
Chapter 7:
It had taken Laila hours to find the library. The castle seemed too big for its own good. It hadn't helped that she kept getting lost and somehow managed her way back to the foyer every time. By the time she finally did reach the library, it was 12:30 in the afternoon. Laila sat down in a lounge chair and sighed, looking up at the massive library. It would take forever to go through each and every one of these books. There's no way she was going to be able to find what she needed.
She laid back in the chair and sighed. Her legs were sore from all the walking she had done yesterday and today and she felt her energy draining from her. The more she looked up at the ceiling the more her thoughts began to drift. How long was the Count going to keep her here? And how was he going to keep her in the castle during the day once the snow was gone? It was early February, so the maximum the snow could keep her in was two months. A lot could happen in two months. In... two...
Laila sat bolt upright, a sudden thought coming to her. What was going to happen when she got her period? Being in a house of vampires was probably the worst thing you could do when Aunt Flow came to visit. She sat back and thought. Her period had just ended a few days ago ('That was convenient,' thought Laila), so she had at least three weeks to figure out what she was going to do. Laila sighed and pushed herself up off the chair.
"I guess I have to start looking."
`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`
By the time the sun had set, Laila had barely scratched the surface of the library. She quickly realized that the books weren't organized in any particular order, so she had to look through each and every one in order to find anything useful. She didn't find much, but she knew there were more books containing the information she needed. She sighed and placed the few books she had found on one of the desks towards the back of the room. She looked at the dusty grandfather clock and bit her lip nervously when she saw it was ten til five. She looked down nervously at the sweater she was wearing. Laila had only packed one skirt and knew it would make her look frumpy with her top. But the sweater was so warm...
Laila stood and decided that rather being late for dinner and properly dressed, she would just go in her thick jeans and warm fuzzy sweater and be on time. Heading off in the direction she thought she had come from earlier, she soon found herself completely lost in the corridors of the castle. Why was it she could never get to where she was going to? Laila then recognized a portrait up ahead and a certain suit of armour with a heavy battle axe. She quickened her pace a little, excited by the prospect of recognizing where she was and almost ran straight into Herbert.
"Goodness!" Herbert exclaimed out of surprise. "Well here you are! You're late for dinner, you know. It's after five o'clock. Father sent me to come and find you."
"I-I got lost," Laila stammered, trying to regain her composure. She hadn't expected to run into anyone and Herbert suddenly appearing from around the corner had startled her a bit.
"Well, come along," Herbert said, walking back the way he had came with Laila following quickly behind him. "We must get you changed for supper and quickly. Father doesn't like to be kept waiting."
"Actually, I thought I'd stay in the clothes I have on now," Laila said casually. Herbert stopped and turned to look at her, a brow arched. "It's cold in here, Herbert. I don't like the cold."
Herbert shook his head and lead her to the main foyer, pointing her towards the dining room.
"You're not joining us?" Laila asked as Herbert slowly started climbing the stairs.
"Daniel and I shall be dining in a separate chamber. Besides, someone's got to prepare some sort of proper attire for you."
"I really don't think that'll be necessary."
Herbert simply sighed and continued up the stairs. Laila rolled her eyes and entered the dining room. Seeing the Count already at his seat, she hurried to cross the room to get to the chair across from him, explaining as she went.
"Sorry I'm late, but I got lost coming from the library a-"
"Did I not tell you to wear a skirt?"
Laila stopped with her hand on her chair without sitting down. She looked at the Count, almost confused at his question. Was he really going to enforce a dress code on her?
"With all due respect, Count, it's a bit cold in this castle. I prefer to stay warm. Besides, I only packed one skirt with me." 'You should know after looking through my stuff,' she thought irritatedly.
The Count's face was not amused. "When I give a command, I expect it to be followed. Now either go put a skirt or a dress on, or you won't be served your supper, is that understood."
Laila leered at the man. She could tell by just his tone that he was being completely serious and his expression showed that he was not about to move on the matter.
"Alright," Laila all but huffed in defeat and began walking out. "I'll be right back."