"My Lord. We found her!"
"Let's depart immediately." A handsome, tall and well-built man with a defined aura of nobleman looked relieved and in second, his gloomy, tired refreshed upon hearing the good news. "Make sure to look after her. Make no mistake now." his high pitch voice in the last sentence only means one thing, and the men surround him disperse immediately to get what their master demand. He gets into the ready carriage, and they start to move towards the portal, leaving the small town behind.
Corraine went missing 3 weeks now.
She disappeared at the same time he just had a secret conversation with his father, Duke Kalor. Jacob sighs at his carelessness and letting his sister heard their argument. She was such a strong-well woman. She refused to be forced to do something she doesn't like at all. He heard that she might have a secret lover somewhere, but he can't be sure who the man was. Maybe she was about to run away with the man/ elope with him. "What a mess?"
################################
I don't really remember what actually happened.
"Argh." Something hard smacking heavy hurt my head. I reached out the back of my head. Sticky & a little dried, smelly of stink blood reaches to me. "What stupid man dare to hit me?" I cursed out. Then it comes to me with an idea of human trafficking. I began to panic and tried my hardest to stand up and familiarise myself with the dark space. My eyes begin to adjust with the darkest, and the sound of the carriage only confirmed my fear.
I begin to pound the wall of the huge box to get their attention, but nobody even bothers to respond. The rush of fear attacked me. Leaping up, I walk around the box, touching the wall for any available latch, but there was nothing useful to be found. This can't be the end of me in this foreign land. In despair, I want to cry out to tears but I can't. No tears. My eyes felt dry. I can't remember when the last time I cried was at all. I slip down to the floor of the box. I felt hopeless. I hugged my knees together to gain the moral support that I need.
How did she get into this mess? All she knows, she gets separated from Kirai after taking a bath at the strange stream. Kirai uses her magic to draw down the large tree trunk down to act as a shower curtain. Inside it, they took their leisure time bathing at the stream. Kirai left early to gather the material she needs for Priest Yana and told her not to go anywhere. I was curious to know what there to see in the town.
She was distracted. She saw someone familiar. It can't be him!
"Bang." the box stopped moving. A moment later, the footsteps noises become clearer as it approaching the box. The invisible door open was open, a white light emerged from the door. As I was looking up to the first person approaching me, it makes me streaking shout. It was all blacks. A huge man stands in front of me with the only light blocked by his built. I tried to stand and step backwards, away from him, but the moment he steps forwards, I step back out, only making my whole body weak. It lost its life.
"Don't! Please let me go!" My low voice barely out from my lips. My hands were trembling. I stopped him from coming closer to me. He was huge that I have to look up to see his face properly. Why this era's humans were so huge? My view is spinning. Not sure if it was from the shock, from the scare of how huge this man was or due to the injury to my head. It was the second time. I fell into his arms, unconscious.
I woke up in an even luxurious huge four-post bed. My head still hurts but not that throbbing pain anymore. I touched clean bandage clothes on it. The last fragment of my memory was the name he called out before I blackout. "CORIANE!" 'Who was that?'
Suddenly a soft stir from the end of the bed had me turn to see a woman sleeping begins to awake from her slumber. I quietly stay still, hoping she will go back to sleep, but she already opens her eyes, turned to me. She took another five-second to settle her view before she jumps from her station and runs out of the room. I can't even stop her.
I pull away from the thick sheet and hurriedly move out of the bed. I was confused with all the commotion last time and now this. I roam around the room for clothes to change. I was able to find some coloured linen and tied it be a piece of clothing. I never saw that kind of colour before, but why bother when I will find a way to escape from this place anyway.
"Where do you think you're going?" a soft yet masculine voice stopped my track. I was about to tie my shoes that I found under the foot of the bed. "You're not allowed to go." I ignored him. Unaware, he already strode to my way. "No can do." he easily lifted me by the collar of my clothes. "What kind of makeshift is this?" I didn't look at him at all. My heart was pumping hard, scared of what's coming. "Hey, Coriane. I'm talking to you."
That very moment I realised how he had mistaken me for someone else. I brace myself to look at him. "Whoever that is, I am not her. Now let me down." I can see his confused expressions. 'Well, I can't blame you if you made a mistake.'
"Stop with the act."
"Hey, I'm serious here."
"Well, I am serious too. Now change your clothes. I mean decent clothes. A gown."He put me down this time and signal a maid to come in with a beautiful gown. I turned to the man who already leaves the room.
"Who was that?" I asked the maid. I remember her as the maid that sleeps at the end of the bed before. Her jaw-dropping surprise to my query. "What?"
"That is Mi' Lord Jacob, Mi' Lady. Your brother."
"What?" it was my turned to surprise. "Brother?" 'What really happened to me.'
The next thirty minutes, I drilled the maid into telling me what she knows about the household. But, it backfired me when she left and started to spread words about me losing my memories. That so call brother had sent in another maid to get me to his office.
"So, is it correct I heard that you lost your memories?"
"It seemed so. I think." I laughed out his questions without even looking at his face while he watched me the whole time we were talking. He let out a sigh. I steal a glance at him. He looks exhausted. He was sitting on the humongous sofa, and suddenly he stood up, strode towards me, pulled me into his arms. I barely breathe at his tight squeeze.
"Thank you for being alive," I dare not move at his words. "I didn't know about that. I apologise for being rough with you. How should I help to regain your memories?" he pulled me away and search into my eyes. He has such a wonderful iris that I temporarily forgot what he was talking about. "Ah, except getting out of this mansion."
I finally get what he was talking about, grunted with distaste, what to ask for if that very request has already been rejected even before I open my mouth. I pushed his heavy body in irritation and stomped out of the room. His loud laughter only makes me more frowning at my back. Jacob watched as his sister disappeared from his study and walked up towards the balcony. Far from it, he seemed relieved too.
He dismissed me but warned me not to escape from the mansion, or he will hunt me down. What happened before they found me? And who is Coriane?