Olivia leaned back in her desk chair, propping her feet up on her desk to stare at the ceiling. It'd been a couple of days since her meeting with the other ladies in the court. She couldn't get that story out of her head, particularly one line that had stuck out to her.
"He was familiar, she felt connected to him even if she did not know him."
It was exactly how she felt about Kim, and she was practically jumping out of her seat waiting for Lady Diana to finish her story so she could prompt her for more questions. To Olivia's surprise, she had none, claiming that any other information would be in the library. She also didn't forget to mention that women weren't allowed to read.
Funny, because I watched Queen Leann read right in front of me...Olivia thought, dropping her legs below her desk and staring out the window. It was dark, but the white oak was as visible as it had been in the day. Olivia couldn't keep her eyes off of it. From the moment she spotted it out in the garden, to the end of Lady Diana's story. She needed to figure out a way to get books from the library...and more parchment because she'd filled the few sheets in her desk with scribbled notes, conclusions, and theories.
Olivia propped her elbows onto her desk, letting her fingers push through strands of hair to knock the braids loose whilst she glanced over her notes one final time. Satisfied, she opened her desk drawer and slid the papers inside. I'll need a hiding place for that at some point, she noted.
Elena had excused herself hours before, having dressed Olivia down into her romper and cleaned up her table. Despite how late it undoubtedly was, Olivia had no intention of laying down to get some rest. Her mind was itching to do something. To read, to write, hell! Olivia didn't care, as long as she'd done something other then sit in her room before being escorted to the garden for lunch.
I could go for a walk? Olivia suggested to herself, tapping her fingers against her chin. She wasn't entirely sure that'd have been a good idea. Out of the entire time she'd been here, Olivia had only three rules set:
1. Don't trust anyone unless you have to.
2. You can't read or write - keep it a secret.
3. Don't go to the market or commoner district alone.
There wasn't a doubt in Olivia's mind that there were more rules. Maybe one of them happened to be that women weren't allowed out of their rooms unless going to the garden. Maybe there was some sort of curfew set in place, she wasn't sure. Perhaps it would just bring too much attention to her if she was seen wandering the halls at night.
Regardless, Olivia stood out of her seat and reached for the candle on her desk. She was about four steps from her door when she realized she was only in her underwear, and quickly returned further inside and to her chest of clothing. She definitely did not want a repeat of a few days ago. She just threw on something easy, but modest. It was a tad airy, but not too revealing. It would do.
Returning to her bedroom door, Olivia pulled it open and glanced out into the hallway. It was empty, the only ones present being Olivia and the shadows dancing along the walls from her candle. She stepped out from under her doorway, shutting it behind her. Even if she had closed it slowly, it made a concerning amount of noise, which had Olivia almost darting down the path to the throne room.
After cutting the corner at the end of the hall, Olivia felt it was safe to return to a slower, but still brisk, pace. A minute or two later, and she was in the entryway of the Keep. Her eyes immediately found the statue of Kim. One defining feature of this statue was the use of the same black stone from the King's throne on her eyes. Ironically, it highlighted the battle-ready scowl cut across her face. Olivia stared at her for a minute longer, and turned her gaze down the grand hall and to the exit. It does feel a little stuffy..she thought, her teeth pulling her bottom lip in to chafe at it. There were definitely going to be guards out in the courtyard, and, even more definite, did not want to risk facing dozens of questions on what she was doing out so late into the evening.
Instead, Olivia climbed the stairs into the throne room. The door was heavy, taking a good amount of force to push it open. She managed, and found it to be a lot easier to shut, albeit difficult to control. It slammed shut, thudding throughout the spacious room. Olivia cringed, her free hand curling into her and gluing to her chest. Her eyes darted around, from the throne, the dining hall door, and to the other unidentified room. She hadn't been there before, having only traversed to the garden and back to her own room.
Olivia took another glance across the room, studying the shadows closely, before deciding she was alright to proceed and scurried down the room to the other door. She pushed it open and gazed into the room. It was almost as tall as the throne room, but had the same large pillars across it. Brazers were sat at each corner, but despite that it was a fairly vacant room. Olivia stepped inside, and - much more gently than the previous - closed the door.
She stepped into the middle of the room, and took another look around. This must be used for parties...Olivia concluded. There wasn't much else to look at, and so Olivia turned around in her spot to leave.
"Little dove.." Olivia's heart stammered from her chest, and a chill ran it's way up and down her spine. She spun around several times, trying to find the source of the voice. There was none. She was completely alone. Am I hearing things?
"I've found you...little dove.." A scream ripped through Olivia and bolted to the door of the room. Adrenaline coursing through her made it less difficult to open, and easy to ignore when it thudded against itself. She sprinted down the throne room and into the entryway, glancing behind her to see if anyone could see her. There was no one, but she kept running anyways. She turned the corner down the hall her bedroom was on and ran into a heavily armored individual.
"Ahh!" She hollered, falling back onto the floor with a resounding thump! Her eyes glanced up at whoever she had ran into, apologies stammering from her. The moment she saw him, she recognized him as a knight. No one she had met, but the attire was very distinguished and easy to differentiate from normal guard armor. It was silver-plated, and black paint formed itself into a dragon emblem on the front of the chest plate. Hooked onto the shoulders was a flowing, and large red cape. The man bent down onto a knee and offered Olivia his hand. She was staring into friendly brown eyes framed by a large beard. His hair was a chestnut brown, and a small portion of it was pulled into a ponytail. She didn't accept his hand.
"It's all right," He said, "Allow me to help you up." Olivia bit the inside of her cheek, but took his hand anyways. He pulled her up easily, reaching back down to grab her dropped candle. She must have been running fast, because it had been blown out. Then again, it's easy to blow out such a small flame.
"I'm uh..I'm really sorry about that." She said, accepting the candle from him.
"Not a problem." He paused for a moment, "Though I would like to ask what had you sprinting down the hallway? Was it you making all that noise?" Olivia's grip on the candle tightened, and her free hand darted up to play with her hair.
"Yes, I just..uh...I heard someone talking." Olivia explained.
"Talking? And you were frightened?" He asked, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. She huffed.
"Well obviously if it was normal conversation, I wouldn't have been!" Olivia defended, "But the voice sounded very sinister and ominous and I didn't see anyone else there! So, of course, I felt threatened and ran! I can't properly defend myself, you know?! What am I supposed to do? Talk their ear off until they leave me alone?"
"I think it would've worked." He remarked, causing a considerable amount of heat to rush to Olivia's cheeks. She let out another huff, and stomped around him. A hand grasped her shoulder, and she jumped, whipping her head around to glare at him.
"What?" She snapped.
"At least let me escort you back to your room. If it makes you feel better, I'll even go check around where you heard the voice." He offered. Olivia let out a soft hmph. She would feel better about it.
"I would like you to check the room." Olivia said, and at his moving to stand next her added, "I don't need an escort. My door is right there." She pointed a little ways down the hall. He ignored her, walking past her to lead the way.
"I insist." He said, "Plus...wouldn't want anyone else to frighten you with a hello on your way back." Olivia frowned, deciding it was best for herself and him if she ignored him altogether. She allowed him to walk a few more steps ahead before following after him. As she expected, it wasn't long before she was opening up her bedroom door and stepping inside. She turned around to close the door.
"Thanks." Olivia mumbled, pushing the door closed. His hand flew out to stop it.
"I don't get a name?" He asked.
"I don't think we'll ever speak again, there isn't a need." Olivia spat, making to slam the door shut. Of course, with him pushing back, it wasn't an easy task. "Get out of my door."
"Oh, sorry." He said, feigning ignorance. Olivia mumbled a few obscenities under her breath, and shut the door. She dropped the candle onto her dining table, pulled her dress from her shoulders and let it drop onto the floor, and walked over to her bed. She plopped down on it, and easily fell asleep.