Has she finally died?
That was the only thing that Talia wanted to know after waking up in a place that looked like a room. The curtains with intricate embroidered patterns were half drawn to let a bit of sunlight peek through the windows, hitting the lower part of the bed she was lying on.
She thought that Heaven would definitely not look so ordinary. Where are the angels that should smile down at her for finally ascending to heaven? Or perhaps… Talia shuddered when she thought of going to hell. Could it be that she was really in hell? Is that why she was seeing a tiny midget sitting on the foot of the bed? Is that the little demon tasked to whip and work her to death and over again?
She'd read many books about Heaven and Hell. Mostly about the Gods since the whole Mortal Land believed in gods and built several Temples under each corresponding gods they wanted to worship and bless them. For example, the Kingdom of Jade worships the Goddess Martia, the goddess of blessing, erecting a Temple just for her.
However, she never heard of Hell being so warm and humane that it was becoming more ridiculous as time passes by. There was no way Hell could unbecomingly accommodate humans to stay in a room after death, right?
Talia was staring in a daze at the midget who was mumbling something under his breath. Due to the dizzy spells after waking up, Talia couldn't make up what he was saying even though they were just a few feet away.
"I got it!"
Suddenly, the midget jumped up and pumped his fist into the air as if he had found a treasure, but he quickly clamped his mouth shut and slowly turned around as if he was afraid to wake up the person sleeping on the bed.
However, it was too late to even take precautionary actions or keep quiet at this point since the girl his family had found deep into the woods had eyes wide open as she stared at him unblinkingly.
"You're awake!" the little boy exclaimed as soon as he realized the girl was now awake. He stood on his toes as he leaned his arms against the cushion of the bed and pressed his face forward. "You're really awake!" He repeated his words as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
But it wasn't strange for him to react like this since the girl had been sleeping in this bed for a whole week!
Talia flinched backwards at the sudden loss of distance between them and blinked her eyes. The little boy looked adorable. Freckles dotted his cheeks and on top of his nose. His light brown eyes glittered with innocence and brightness that Talia has never seen in those who had been stuck to her side under her father's orders.
"Who are you?" Talia struggled to get up and get away from this tiny little boy. Though he looked harmless, all the people she had met in the castle looked harmless at first before they started to be influenced by her father's evilness.
The little boy saw her reacting like a shivering bunny and furrowed his brows. "Are you afraid of me?" asked the little boy. He couldn't understand why she would be afraid of him. Ah, could it be because he shouted earlier? When thinking of this, he quickly said, "I'm sorry if you got scared when I shouted earlier. You don't have to be afraid of me! My Pa and Ma saved you from the woods where I saw you sleeping on the ground."
Talia finally understood what had happened to her. This place was also not Hell or Heaven. She was still alive and in the world she lived in. Someone had found her and took her to this place.
Looking at the little boy in front of her, Talia wondered why they had saved her. Could it be that they are her father's people?
Thinking of this possibility made her heart and boy turn cold. Shaking her head, Talia repeatedly told herself there was no way! She had already left the castle without her father's notice, there was no way he would have found her!
But then, she was always surrounded by her father's people. Talia couldn't allow herself to trust anyone else just to be betrayed again.
Seeing her back away from him even more until she was almost at the other edge of the bed, the little boy, Peter called out in worry, fearing that she would fall down the ground, "Stop! You'll fall!"
However, it was too late. Talia, who was shrinking farther and farther, hadn't glanced behind her and even when she heard the little boy call out, she didn't believe him. But then, it was too late for her to stop herself either as her body was pulled by gravity from behind until she was sprawled on the floor.
Peter quickly climbed the bed and looked at where she had fallen from the bed. He saw her staring at the ceiling in shock. He wanted to laugh at her clumsiness, but because tears started to pool her eyes, he could only swallow the laughter that threatened to come out of his throat.
"Are you alright?" He quickly jumped to stand beside her. "Did you hit your head? Ma will get angry at me if you're hurt again after she cured all your wounds!"
"Peter! What did I tell you about making noises in the patient's–" Peter's mother opened the door and saw her son next to the window and cut off her words in mid-sentence. She furrowed her brows when she saw that the sleeping figure on the bed was gone and quickly asked, "Where's the patient?"
When Peter heard his mother, he immediately pointed his finger below and said, "On the floor."