"Yes, this place is the best! The food is amazing, the classes and teachers are good, I learn a lot of things everyday in class, and all everyone is amazing, I have so many friends..."
She went on and on, talking animatedly like she was programmed for that.
I listened to all she said and when she was done, I asked, lowering my voice,
"Elliam, are you sure there's nothing you'd wanna tell me?"
She stopped and stared at me then leaned forward and ask in a voice so low and deliberate, it sounded mocking.
" Like what, Mr Nomen?"
Mr Nomen again, she had never called me Mr Nomen before.
"Like.....They mistreating you or any other kid around or starving you..... Anything,"
"Why would I want to tell you that, if I told you anything like that, I'd be lying. Mr Nomen I love this place, it's really nice, I don't think I would want to leave,"
She said looking me right in the eyes.
I sighed in resignation, then glanced at her once more, however that short look I gave her, I saw in her eyes a small ball of light.
'Must be the sunlight's reflection,' I shrugged the uneasy off.
"But..... Elliam, you know if there's anything, anything at all, that you wanted to tell me, you can," I said, giving her a small paper.
She looked back at me then took the note.
....
The only thing I could do was to report back to the government, I only hoped all she said was true.
Days came and went and soon it was winter/Christmas season...
A time of happiness and warmth, even for the children of mother Goose's.
For our young anti-protagonist, however, a time of unfortunate disaster for Elliam.
•••••••
4th Week.
December 4th.
T'is the season of Christmas, hence visitors were numerous during this time of the year, most were the wealthy families to visit or take home their heirs otherwise the golden children, for the holiday season.
Two or more benevolent individuals or companies came by to donate money, gifts and clothing and shoes to the less fortunate children. Like I mentioned, it was a season of luck for the children, this was the season that they'd get new clothes and gifts.
•
Elliam followed Moriah through the halls of the first floor.
It was very early in the morning, the sky turning a lighter blue from the dark one that painted the skies.
Moriah was on one of her many chores. Every senior child had their own chores separate from the younger children's.
They were both headed for Mother Essyher's office to deliver a brown package.
Their steps echoed through the semi dark halls as they made their way through.
They soon reached the office.
"Oh! Excuse me Elliam, I have to go on a bathroom run,"
"Don't worry, I could just....." Elliam said.
"No, I've said to never enter her office without me," She replied curtly, pushed the package into Elliam's arms and left.
Elliam shrugged, she'd only said that out of courtesy, under normal circumstances she wouldn't even touch the room with a long pole. She wasn't sure why but the room always made her feel a palpating apprehension.
She followed Moriah however and wherever but never liked going to The office at all.
Elliam sighed and leaned against the wall, waiting for Moriah.
Soon her mind started wandering and she started wondering.
There were multiple blackouts in her memories of this place from the time she got here.
She couldn't remember whom brought her here, she couldn't remember the day she was brought here and now she regularly found herself staring at the dark haired girl blankly, forgetting that she knew her.
What was her name again? Lamona? Raymond? She could barely remember.
Elliam snapped back to reality when her butt touched the cold floor, she hadn't realized she had been slipping downward.
She looked around and noticed Moriah still hadn't showed up.
"Moriah?" She whisper shouted. But only the echoes of her voice responded her.
She rested her head on the wall and waited still for Moriah, it'd been more 5 minutes now.
Tired of waiting and as a result of having her 5 minutes of peace before day interrupted, she started to snore. As she did, her grip on the package weakened and it tumbled onto the floor.
The sound shook her up from sleep.
She leaned forward groggily and looked at the package. It had opened at the top and a rectangular looking thing was hanging out.
She picked it up curiously and before she pulled it out looked around warily.
It was a group picture, a very very old picture as it was in black and white and in a poor condition and looked like it was taken with what was a poor quality camera now but must have been considered fine class in the early 20s, it felt even in a frame, musty and fragile.
Elliam expected it to be dated sometime around 1920 but when she looked more closely at it she found it was from the 19th century.
It was a picture of many people in medieval looking uniforms, they were in front of a familiar looking building, Elliam narrowed her eyes trying to recall where she'd seen the building when she suddenly realized that it was the front house of the orphanage.
She then realized that although they looked different because of their outfits, she could vaguely recognize some of the staffs in the photo.
Her eyes caught sight of a face that gave her shivers down her spine.
Elliam widened her eyes in shock. But that was about two centuries ago! How was it possible??
From there she recognized more faces from the photo, there was her teacher, the child therapist, nuns, monks and more...
She was very confused, the picture was dated 1829 and if perhaps they were different persons whom might have looked alike due to genetics, it was impossible that they looked like clones of themselves, even in genetics there had to be variations. But they looked very alike, exactly the same as they did now.
Elliam noticed something odd and looked closely at the background.
There was no sign that said, Stronghold's Etiquette School for Noble Children as she expected but one that had, Mother Goose's and Stronghold's Asylum for the mentally and physically disabled.
Just then she heard footsteps coming her way, Elliam widened her eyes and started trying to stuff the picture into the package.
But the footsteps were getting closer and closer...
"Sorry for keeping you waiting, Elliam, got a little lost down there, "
Thankfully Elliam, despite her panic had successfully stuffed the picture back into the package and composed herself.
" No worries, it was alright,"
" Come on, " Moriah said as she took the package from her arms and opened the door to enter The office.
•••••
5th Week, December 7th.
It was dawn and Elliam and Moriah were trodding through the snow to the front house to get a delivery, everywhere was still slightly dark so they used a lamp.
"You've got the keys, right Elliam?"
"I have," Elliam jingled it.
"Right," Just then she stopped, straightened her back and looked at the ground which was covered in snow.
Elliam instinctively followed her eyes.
On the ground, apparent in the snow was a large footprint, at least 270 cm long and it didn't look like any animals the girls knew.
A weak shiver ran up Elliam's spine as she looked up at Moriah.
In the darkness of the dawn, she noticed a low ball of light in Moriah's eyes, however before she could make anything of it, Moriah had dragged her ahead.
Now that more memories were getting fuzzier in her head, Elliam started noticing things she hadn't noticed earlier in the period she got here.
In the castle, she noticed more balls of light in many children's eyes, it was barely conspicuous as she could only see it in the dark.
Moriah kept Elliam with her whenever she could to keep an eye on her per Mother Essyher's orders.
Strangely most of Moriah's chores were done at night, evening or near dawn when everything was still dark. Her chores consisted mainly of delivering weird looking packages to the main heads of the orphanage.
The town was located in the north hence most of the year it was very cold and snowy except during the summer season, but it was most freezing during the season of the year ending.
•••••••
December 12th
Per usual she hadn't been able to sleep.
It was near midnight and Elliam lay in bed staring at the ceiling with dull eyes.
The moon was away, visiting the another part of the night, leaving this part's night cimmerian eonian and hushed.
All was deathly silent, so silent that the smallest sound was noisy to her.
The clock on the wall seemed impossibly loud as the echoing tick tock resounded continually.
But Elliam welcomed any form of distraction from this long unending nightly ennui.
Tic tok tic tok tic tok tik.....
The clock went. Tik tok tik tok.....
Until 'Bong!'.
The witching hour clocked.
The clock stopped then.
Elliam sighed and braced for what would come.
Slowly and steadily, it came, the unhurried sounds of creakings of the floor boards that came from above.
As if someone or some people were slowly climbing the stairs. The sound neither decreased nor increased, it meddled right at the position from where she heard it.
As if the persons were only climbing up and down a portion of the stairs repeatedly.