I wake up with the sound of soft music. My morning starts with a feeling that it will be a great day today. I remember that I am not at my house once I take in the place I am in. A small note is kept on my bedside table, written by Art.
"We will leave for school together. Once you are ready come downstairs."
I decided to follow the instructions. Usually, I go to school by myself. I take to cycle or at times I walk. The way to school from this mansion is however very new to me. I don't want to take any risk. I don't know what it is, but I know it will not end well if I start moving around the same way I used to. Things have changed.
When I come downstairs I overhear a discussion going on.
"How long are you going to continue this?" Lazarus asks. He sounds pretty serious.
"A couple of more days," Felix answers. "I don't want to leave her alone there."
"She is not alone anymore. Now that she is here, she will always be surrounded by us. And that school is already protected by charms and spells. Nothing bad can happen there."
"That may be true but isn't it always better to confirm first? Let's not forget that we need her alive and sane. There should be nothing bothering her or influencing her mind."
At this point, I want to interrupt the conversation, but the cowardly investigator inside me forces me to stay and listen more. Will they tell me what it is about if I go in now and ask them about it? A voice in my head says they won't.
"Are you sure that's the only reason why you want to continue schooling with her? I am not very sure that this sounds like Rayo.
"We may be enjoying school life once again, is that a problem?"
"Don't forget our real purpose here. We are supposed to accompany them but we are not supposed to become one of them. Also, you need to make sure that she doesn't remember anything."
"We thought you already did that."
Felix joins the conversation again, "That reminds me, how did you influence her? We couldn't for a very long time. None of us could. What changed this time?"
When did Lazarus influence me? Wasn't I different because I couldn't be influenced? The question Felix asked mirrors in my mind. What changed?
Something must have indicated my presence to them as they all have stopped talking at once. An eerie silence settles in the room. Without taking any more time I enter the room with an air of ignorance. It is definitely not a good idea to let them know that I have been eavesdropping.
"Good morning," I say in a voice as muted as possible.
"Your father called. We told him that you are going to stay with us for a while now," Felix informs me.
I look around the dining room. All of them are present with a grim face, as though they are mourning someone.
"What else did he say?" I ask indifferently. My father is not the kind of father who will be worried about his daughter's absence. My plan to stay with a bunch of young men may make him a little antsy, as that would ruin his plan to marry me off to a wealthy family, but I am also the one chosen for the sacrifice. I am really curious now. What is going on in his mind?
My face doesn't show my thoughts, hopefully. I don't need to tell them these things. I am sure they know the characters of the men who have been sacrificing their daughters for generations.
"Even if he was unhappy about the arrangement, he did not show that. By evening your cousins will come to drop your clothing and other important things."
"Can't I go myself?" My question earns me frowns from all of them. After an uncomfortable pause, I say, "I don't want to be a burden to any of them. Will you take me home after school?" I make sure that it sounds like an earnest request.
"That can be done. we don't have anything special planned," Art says.
"It is a better idea. We don't want anybody else to come to this house. especially someone who has nothing to do with this place," Felix says.
"So that's settled then," Felix ends the discussion.
Breakfast is served by a woman I have never met before. I wasn't even aware that somebody else lives there. I look at her curiously and notice her eyes. She works as if she is in a trance. Almost like sleepwalking.
Lazarus follows my gaze, and says, "Her name is Ethel. She will serve you from now on."
I frown at the idea. I have a few people at my house who help with the household chores. but I don't have a personal butler. None of us cousins do. We cousins are habituated to look after ourselves. This was my great-grandmother's rule, which she established after she became the family matriarch.
"I don't want a personal maid."
Lazarus says, "This is a new place for you, and there are some rules you have to follow. Ethel will help you with those and keep you safe."
"I thought you were going to keep me safe," I ask with a hint of disappointment.
Rayo leaves his seat by the windowside and scolds me. "It is possible for us to follow you 24X7. Not even your favourite Felix or Art can do that. Trust me when I say this, you will need Ethel."
That's it. Now I feel more familiar with this place. It's like I never left home. God knows how many more rules are going to be introduced.
"You're right. There are rules you have to follow when you live here."
I eat my pancake with more fervour. I have not been this hungry for a very long time. I add more and more syrup and moan as the food melts in my mouth.
"We have agreed to your rules of having your own space. We like that." Rayo sits right across me on the chair Lazarus was sitting in until a few minutes ago. "You will not be roaming around in the mansion without one of us by your side."
"I have been taught basic courtesy." I know better to roam around in an old mansion I know nothing about.
"Good to know that. What if you hear strange noises? Sounds, like somebody is crying, or calling for help?"
I stop eating and stare at Rayo incredulously. What have they been doing here? "D-do you have a prisoner here?"
A throaty laughter fills the dining room.
"Am I a prisoner here?"
"We are letting you go to your school, and home to collect your things, and have a safe life here," Alp says from a far corner of the room. They all stare at me as if I am expected to say something back to them.
Rayo adds to my annoyance. "Besides, you were the one who agreed to stay here. We didn't force you in any way."
"How will go to school?" I ask to avoid the weird feelings bubbling in my stomach.
"By car. We know you enjoy taking walks, but for a couple of days you should avoid it for your own safety."
"Okay," I mumble and proceed to take my plate to the sink. Ethel hurries towards me. "It's okay, I can do that by myself." She stands there uncertainly looking at Rayo.
"Is she under some kind of spell? If so, let her know that I like to clean up after myself." I wash my plate, wipe it and keep it back to the shelf. Suddenly, my hands stop moving.
"What's wrong?" Alp asks.
"I feel like I am forgetting something important."
"What?"
I shrug. "I don't know. Something like a dream, or a conversation that has meaning to me."