The area felt so much more chilly, was it from the crevices in between the frames of the doors? It was probably just my imagination.
But I trusted my gut, I tip toed back, before sprinting toward the window, muting the sound that came from my steps. Something felt off, and I couldn't tell why.
Before ascending upwards just above the window with the use of my wind, I had prematurely placed a spell that enhanced sound in the room. And it was only a few seconds after that the door creaked open.
"Where did she go-" It wasn't the voice of Hanise anymore, it was a girl's voice, but I had never heard of such a voice ever. No maid had it, and no one else that I knew of had such a low-monotonous pitch. "The window?"
I flew up to the roof, making a small sound barrier to numb the violent winds that propelled me up. I peeked over the roof's tiles, and as I did so, their head did too.
Onyx black hair tied in a small bun, so it wasn't Priscilla.. Priscilla's hair is of a light cocoa, which already ruled out Priscilla not being the invader. It was difficult to see smaller details, and it was even harder when all I could see was the top view of their head.
I tried focusing more, leaning closer to the ledge to see if that would help.
My hand slipped, and dirt flew off. Scrambling, I retracted my head back. And a gust of wind shot up from the bottom, hitting against the roof tiles.
"Weird. I swear I saw her coming into her room.. Where did she go?"
I ran off to the other side and jumped off, utilising my wind to slow my fall to land safely. Who in the mansion had black hair, specifically onyx black hair? And before that, an earthy scent I had picked up from the short gust or was that my imagination?
Someone who maintains and cleans the enormous garden perhaps? Only 7 particular maids regularly performed such a duty since the past week. Overall, since my stay, I knew of 12, butler or maid, that had at least cut the grass or hedges, watered the flowers, or regularly cleaned the white garden furniture.
A girl's voice, onyx black hair, an earthy smell, that narrowed it down to 7?
"What are you doing outside Miss Ophelia?" Sh*t! Priscilla? How did she find me? And how was I spotted so soon?
"Oh I, I was just admiring the moon." Did she notice me jumping off the roof? Was my lie good enough? Was it fake enough?
"It's midnight, let me lead you back to your room, you need a good night's rest, don't you only have a few weeks left for Miss Layla's training?" In the moment, I had almost forgotten she was someone evil, she was probably watching me in the many hundred windows in the mansion.
"Yes, it's just nice to take in a breath of fresh air every now and then right, Priscilla? Just give me a few more minutes and I'll go back in myself."
"Yes of course, I apologise, if you'll excuse me I shall go back in then." She bowed politely, as usual.
If it wasn't Priscilla who was targeting me just then, it had to have meant that there was another working with Priscilla and Lione. I had to find it out, who they were.
Apart from that, if there really was another conspiring with those two, it wasn't unlikely that there was more than just a plus one. How many could there have been? How many was in on this? Am I overthinking this?
Murren's talk, corrupt nobles and wicked maids, Layla's gruelling training, Dad's birthday, Mom, and even Zed. There was so much to think about, and so much to do, how were they going?
And Bob too, still no replies back, even after I had sent more than 5 letters to him. Did he think I'd let him free from my grasp? It was about time I gave him a visit.
I had felt it, a sinister feeling that ran down my spine while walking down the halls. I didn't stop walking, better to not mess around and find out or I was most likely going to die. This sensation, it was coming closer, I could just feel it. A tingling feeling just crawling up my back, it was right behind, I know it was.
I couldn't help it, I had to look back, I had to!
I held myself back from the temptation, if it was another Night Stalker, I'd have to wait till sunrise. No, I had my own fire, and if worst comes to worst I had the black flames ready. My body pivoted, looking at the surroundings. No one was there, it was just empty, and surprisingly dark.
I hadn't noticed it till now, but the moonlight didn't shine through the windows, only the one I stood beside did and behind me. There were no clouds that partially hid the moon, checking behind, the light was still there-
Or not. It was unreasonably dim, I broke into a cold sweat, my heart thumped fast. Faster than I realised, my hands clenched and damp with sweat. Who or what was it, it took much longer to recognise, the halls.. Felt like they stretched forever and ever, resembling that of an endless loop? It had to be fake.
There was one way to find out, and that was to walk forward, till the end. I stepped forward, and light came in when stepping into the window's vision. Staring back, the previous window's light was long gone.
Minutes passed, it was a loop, but was it some type of illusion, or was it real? I kept asking myself the same question every second. Was it or was it not? It's fake.
It's fake.
It's fake.
It's fake.
It's fake.
It's fake.
It's fake.
It's fake. It's fake. It's fake. It's fake. It's fake. It's fake. It's fake. Fake. Fake. Fake. Fake. Fake. Fake. Fake. It is fake. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up Ophelia!