"Are you okay miss?" asked Aina, who had been walking silently beside the young child, for a few minutes already.
She no longer heard the voices of the other members of the family since they had moved away from the ground floor to go upstairs. Désespoir seemed to have regained her composure, since leaving the large living room, as if simply stepping out of it had expelled the thing that possessed her. Now that Aina was watching her young mistress, she looked like a perfectly normal, if slightly distracted, child.
Désespoir said nothing and just nodded, so Aina wondered if she would open her mouth again. She had to admit that she was surprised, even worried, to witness the young woman's outburst of madness, which seemed to come straight out of a bad novel.
[The awakening is coming…]
Her cold, threatening voice still echoed in her mind, like a warning.
'She looks completely harmless...'
Aina didn't know if this was all to get the family's attention, or if Désespoir was actually trying to announce something that would eventually happen. Magic and divination did not exist in this world, but no one was safe from making mistakes in the matter, since no one was omniscient. Perhaps the youngest of the family was not what she claimed to be.
'Just like the note left outside of Peur's room said.'
Now that she thought about it, the message seemed even more curious to her. Who had left it? And for what reason ? It was the first time such a thing had happened since she had been here. She didn't know if that was a bad joke, or a failed attempt to warn her, but she couldn't learn more about it anyway. The message had been left in the corridor, at a time when most of the servants were not there and the mansion was so often deserted, that the probability of finding a witness in the vicinity was particularly low or even non-existent.
She didn't really want to play detective either, to discover a secret that didn't interest her much. She had many other things to worry about, than the possible secrets of the family. The only things that deserved her attention were her work and the recovery of her lost memories.
'I don't have time for gossip.'
Her curious thoughts faded as they reached Désespoir's bedroom door, directly across from Peur's. The child stopped beside her and the young servant took that as an order to open the door, which she did without flinching. The handle turned and the chamber opened with a click.
Aina gestured to her mistress to enter, which she did immediately, without adding anything more. The maid then followed in her footsteps, following her into the large burgundy-red room. The room was wide, almost as big as the area of those of the servants altogether and filled with stuffed animals of all kinds, all of which were missing their heads.
Aina saw Désespoir cross the room, until she sat on the edge of her bed, next to which sat a large dark chain piece of furniture, on which was exposed a transparent box, closed by an enormous gold padlock, adorned with a rush flower .
She was surprised to find that the elegant box contained a porcelain doll, of delicate workmanship whose appearance was in every way similar to that of its owner. The toy, seemingly locked in a glass cage, was placed there like a work of art, intended to be only a soulless envelope just good enough to delight the eyes of visitors. She found the resemblance to Désespoir to be of a particular bad taste, and wondered if such a scene was necessary in a child's room. After a few minutes of thinking, she remembered the torture objects from Rage's room and the strange paintings from Envie's.
'Mademoiselle Désespoir is not the worst in the field.'
Everything was strange here after all.
"You love it ?" asked Désespoir, whose presence she had completely concealed for a few minutes.
"Who, miss?" she replied, unsure of what the child was talking about.
She tilted her head, as if she didn't understand.
"My doll."
'Oh… The doll.'
Aina felt particularly stupid, not to have thought of this more than logical eventuality before, but she had been surprised to discover that she had come so close to the possession of her mistress, without realizing it. She hesitated, on what to do next, but remembered that Désespoir was after all just a young child, who probably had some strange but innocent questions.
"She is very pretty, but why is she locked up?" she couldn't contain her curiosity.
Désespoir lowered her eyes, sliding them down to her soft toy, whose neck she stroked affectionately, giving the scene an eerie atmosphere.
"So that she doesn't escape."
For some reason she couldn't explain, a shiver ran down her spine. She suddenly felt very uncomfortable in the presence of the child and had a vague desire to leave the room, without really understanding why. She opened her mouth to respond to the young child, before her gaze fell on a small wooden table in the corner of the room. It looked old and like it had been used many times, given its wear.
Completely forgetting the answer she wanted to give to Désespoir, she advanced in its direction, almost mechanically. A large dollhouse, oddly resembling the mansion, sat there, right next to its carbon copy, but as clear as snow. As she approached, she noticed that the dark abode was an exact replica of where they were and that several of its rooms had been decked out with a small doll, in the image of, what seemed to her, be the occupants of the property.
She recognized Envie in his bedroom, Rage in the study, Chagrin in the library and Peur in the closet. Upstairs she saw a doll, whose hair was the same color as Despair's and hers and who looked strangely like the young lady, only slightly older.
'Vide…'
The mysterious heiress towered over the mansion with her mere presence, her eyes turned towards the window. She also noticed Elvan who had been surprisingly posted outside, right at the intersection between the Memoria mansion and its pristine twin.
'Why did she represent it like this?'
She found the reproduction surprisingly realistic and wondered who could have made such an object and with such precision. Everything was represented in the object, whether it was its occupants or the furniture and trinkets that were there. It was to believe that the mansion had been copied and shrunk to give such a result.
Her eyes, which admired the object with a strange fascination, lingered on what she believed to be a door.
" What is that ?" she asked without realizing it, pointing curiously at the object with her fingertip.
She thought she had never seen that door before, no… She was sure of it. The oval copper medallion that was affixed to it intrigued her, to the point that she couldn't take her eyes off it. In the center of it was represented half of a woman's face, with her eyes turned towards the horizon and whose wavy hair fell in a cascade to the base of her neck . The latter seemed to have been carved from a bright white ivory, which contrasted with the rest of the mansion. So she couldn't help noticing it.
The figure that was represented there, seemed strangely familiar to her, without her managing to know where she had seen it.
She then realized that she was seized with an unusual curiosity, which was not like her at all.
" What ?" Désespoir replied, approaching her.
"This door…" she continued absently. "I don't think I've ever seen it before."
It was strange that such a perfect copy had been compromised by the addition of an element that was not in the house, so… Why? Why was this passage, leading she didn't quite know where, there, thus represented and in full view of all? It was as if it was there to taunt the viewer, as if to draw his attention to this seemingly innocuous thing, but which no one could ignore.
" Oh that… "
Aina lifted her head and looked at her young mistress, whose gaze had slightly arched, as if smiling under her mask. It wasn't a soft smile, however, like the one a child of her age might have done.
No.
It was a mocking smile, which seemed to make fun of her.
"It's the door to the other side, into Father's office." she replied nonchalantly, before a small chuckle escaped her lips.
'The other side…'
"Towards the Awakening."
This story again… She didn't know what Désespoir was talking about, but the serious air she wore made her say that she wasn't delirious… That she couldn't be more serious.
"But what are you talking about…" whispered the young servant, whose curiosity seemed to be at its peak.
She knew she shouldn't ask questions, that this was all wrong, but she couldn't be rational. At this moment, the intense desire, crawling in her that had been screaming for a long time already in her mind, was unleashed without her being able to contain it.
"Do you want to know…?"
Désespoir addressed her in a strangely enigmatic voice, which froze Aina in place. To know… ? Did she want it? Her conscience was screaming at her to ignore Désespoir's words and not to try to find out more, but her instinct, her little inner voice was screaming at her to succumb to her curiosity… To cross the forbidden door. It was dangerous to be curious, she knew that, but something...
Something made her want to know more. She had the feeling; something was missing from her and Désespoir could provide answers to her questions.
She nodded hesitantly, before she even realized it, causing a deep laugh from the young child, which sent chills down her spine.
"Alright… So look." she whispered playfully, before going to a wall, on which hung a painting, covered with a white sheet.
Aina noticed that her heart was beating louder and louder in her chest as the child approached the object. Her hands were clammy, her breathing jerky, and her mind racing. She had the impression that time was slow… As if it was ready to stop and that she was going to suffocate if Désespoir did not put an end to her interminable wait. The latter slid her hand over the fabric, she grabbed it and then she pulled it out all at once.
In front of her now amazed eyes, an object appeared, which she recognized to be a vase. This one seemed at first glance nondescript and inconspicuous, but something moved her from within. A particularly simple black vase, which seemed not to be worth much money, but which took her breath away.
When she saw it, her blood raced and she barely had time to see the whole image, that she crashed on the ground. A searing pain radiated through her skull. It was so much stronger than anything she had felt before, to the point that she was close to fainting.
Her skull was shaking and her ears were ringing, so much so that she only noticed after a few seconds that she was screaming to death, under the apparently dumbfounded eyes of Désespoir, who was staring at her like she was crazy.
[Stop!] screamed a voice in her mind.
'It's starting again.' She thought and yet...
This crisis was unlike any other. She didn't know why, but she had the feeling that something was happening inside of her.
"Argh!" she growled, unable to even catch her breath, as she held her skull in her trembling hands.
[It is not me ! Please stop…!]
"Stop!" she shouted, her eyes closed and her face grimacing.
Her whole body was shaking in pain, as if she was convulsing and flashes were imposing themselves on her. Images of a brown room, with a wooden floor, a broken object on the ground and a figure leaning over her whose features she couldn't see.
The torture was unbearable and did not seem to stop. She was in pain, terribly in pain, so much so that she wanted to die to get it over with and then suddenly the door flew open. Aina, through her messy hair and her eyes bathed in tears, saw the silhouette of Master Envie, who was breathing heavily, as if he had run.
In her pain, she barely saw him look around and lay eyes on her before his face lost its colors.
She was still screaming as if being torn apart and as her ordeal continued, she felt her consciousness slipping away and her vision becoming blurry.
" What is going on here ?!" he growled, gesturing, his eyes fixed on Désespoir, who was no longer moving.
Aina couldn't tell if she answered him. All she saw was the silhouette of her master kneeling before her. She couldn't see his expression through her hair, but she felt his hands on her face, which felt oddly unfamiliar. She didn't understand what was happening, or what was occurring inside of her.
"What did you tell her!?"
Envie continued to shout above her voice, without Aina being able to understand what he was talking about. In other circumstances, she would have been surprised by the attitude of Envie, who lifted her gently, but she was far too weak and trembling with pain, to even ask questions. He pressed her against his chest, like a fragile little thing.
[I swear I won't do it again, please!]
The pain wouldn't stop and the voice kept screaming inside her. She prayed that her pain would knock her unconscious, that all of this would end. Another noise echoed, as her eyelids fluttered. Her screams didn't stop, but her voice broke as her screams continued. She was shouting without any other sound coming out.
"Elvan!" someone called him.
'Elvan…is there?'
" Give her to me." she heard him say, in a sharp voice that didn't sound like him.
She saw herself pressed against someone again and recognized the musky smell of the butler. She felt what looked like liquid slip into her mouth and she coughed, nearly choking on it.
"It will be fine, Aina." he breathed more gently, passing his palm over her forehead.
The moment his hand rested on her, her body stopped shaking. Her skin was cold and soft and his touch almost miraculously relieved the pain that had been shaking her for a few minutes already. Her screams stopped and her body immediately relaxed.
She was panting and covered in sweat, but pressed herself closer to her savior, hoping to maintain the calm and peaceful state she was in now. He was like an oasis for a thirsty person. Even though calm returned to her, she was exhausted, to the point that her eyelids felt heavy. All her energy had left her, so she couldn't even lift a finger or open her mouth to speak.
" I am here. Everything is fine." he breathed, stroking her forehead gently.
She was tired… Terribly tired and she had the feeling that she was going to pass out eventually. It was all shameful and she knew she was putting on a show, but she couldn't pull herself together. She was exhausted.
The voice screaming in her head was gone and all that remained was the sound of her breathing and footsteps approaching the room she was in.
" What happened ?" she heard the matriarch's panicked voice not far away.
'What is the whole family doing here?'
"She was with Désespoir, and she started screaming" Envie explained in response.
She blinked constantly, struggling to stay conscious. She opened her mouth to speak, but Elvan's hand came to rest on her eyes, plunging her into the dark. She wanted to protest, but she was far too weak to resist.
"Sleep…I'll take care of everything."
She had the feeling that something was happening and that she had to fight sleep at all costs, but she was already beginning to close her eyelids.
'Don't fall asleep Aina…' Her conscience whispered to her, in vain.
"I warned you to be careful about…" she heard Elvan whisper, in a voice filled with anger that didn't seem like him.
She didn't want to lose consciousness and miss the conversation that was taking place there, right next to her, but she only managed to drop heavily into Elvan's arms. She didn't have time to take in all his words before she closed her eyes and sank into darkness.