The first thing I felt upon regaining consciousness was an overwhelming sense of fatigue.
My entire body felt worn out and achy, as if every muscle and fiber was tightly wound and utterly drained of vitality and strength. My only desire was to drift back into a deep sleep, covered in the warmth of my cozy blankets. However, a nearby noise stopped me, prompting me to crack open my left eye. The sound was a soft rasping, ebbing and flowing like a gentle tide.
As I took in my surroundings, I confirmed that I was indeed buried beneath a vibrant pile of blankets. The soft and luxurious feeling of the wool blankets filled me with a sense of ease, so much so that it felt dangerous.
'That's ridiculous; how can a blanket make me feel like this?'
As I set aside my wandering thoughts, I turned my attention to the surroundings of my chamber. To call it a "room" felt like an understatement, for this expansive area exuded an air of opulence, sophistication, and grandeur. As I surveyed the space, it became evident that most surfaces were adorned with shimmering 24k gold, complemented by immaculate white paint.
The walls were a canvas of artistry, featuring intricate carvings depicting elegant flowers alongside graceful curves and flowing lines, each a testament to exquisite craftsmanship.
Every flower exhibited a unique combination of size and shape in its petals, stamens, and stems. Some had jagged edges and pointed tips or soft and round petals, while others showcased an array of irregular forms due to mishap body parts that looked out of place.
The exquisite craftsmanship displayed throughout the room filled me with a deep sense of love and compassion, as if my beloved had handmade everything before me.
Speaking of my beloved, I let my eyes drift downwards, following the sound of soft breathing. In a chair beside me was Elaine, her head nestled in her arms, which rested on the left side of my bed.
With a tender motion, I lifted my left hand and carefully swept her tousled blonde-brown hair away from her face, which was only partially visible from where I was. The moment my fingers brushed against her, a gentle smile graced her lips, and she murmured my name in a sweet, affectionate whisper.
"Honestly, what am I going to do with you," I said with a small smile.
I gently and silently moved my legs to the right side of the bed, my bare feet touching the cool, multicolored granite tiles beneath me.
Even with my cautious movements, the king-sized bed beneath me made soft creaks with each movement. The sound echoed through the room, prompting me to glance over at Elaine, but thankfully, she remained asleep. The person who owns this bed really needs to fix this; you can't do ANYTHING without telling the entire world about it.
Rising effortlessly to my feet, I found it strange, as just moments before, I had felt an overwhelming reluctance to move at all. As I stood, I took in the vastness of the "room" around me.
Before me lay a large area, completely empty except for a bed and a single chair. It felt like the room was a blank canvas waiting to be filled, or at least that was what my instinicts told me.
To the right of the bed, a door caught my eye. Its surface was a captivating swirling blend of dark and light wood, adorned with intricately designed golden dragons that danced around the sleek black metal handles.
To my left lay the remaining area, featuring two additional doors that resembled the first, both of which stood open. One of these doors opened into a bathroom. At the same time, the other led to an oddly blurry kitchen, shrouded in a haze that made it difficult to discern any details, no matter how hard I focused my eyes.
Choosing not to bother going through either door, I redirected my attention to the first door, which was notably larger than the others, and quietly approached it.
'Huh?' No matter how much I walked, the door remained out of reach.
"Strange," I whispered to myself.
'I wonder if —' I wondered, testing the thought that had crossed my mind. To my surprise, it worked; the space between me and the door began to diminish until I found myself standing right before it.
'Authority Of Space?' I wondered as my fingers curled around the cold, black metal handles of the imposing wooden doors that loomed before me. With a firm pull, I swung them open, and a wave of pleasantly warm air enveloped me. The temperature was just right; the gentle breeze touched my skin in an oddly familiar and comforting way. Weird.
Stepping into the corridor beyond, I noticed that the walls mirrored those of the room I had just exited.
However, as I stepped out, my foot slipped, and I found myself crashing to the ground. My face collided with the polished marble tiles with a resounding thud that reverberated through the hallway and into the room where Elaine lay sleeping.
"Ack!" I let out, losing all sensation in my body.
Elaine was jolted awake. Her chair tipping back a bit too far caused a sudden and chaotic fall, sending her sprawling to the ground, where her head made a painful connection with the floor.
"Ack!" she cried out, and a loud thud echoed throughout the room and into the corridor. Out of my eyesight, I heard enormous curses spewing out of Elaine's mouth as she got up, only to cut them short when she saw I was no longer in bed.
"Leon?!? LEON?!?" she called out, her voice rising in urgency as I heard the rustling of blankets being tossed aside in her frantic search.
"He..lp?
The rustling of blankets abruptly ceased, replaced by the sound of hurried footsteps approaching me. They halted just behind me, and I felt a firm arm latch onto my left arm and wrap around my right shoulder.
"And where do you think you're headed, MISTER?" she bellowed into my ear, her tone brimming with fury.
"Out...side?" I stammered, feeling the weight of her piercing gaze fixated on me. The pressure of her stare intensified, causing beads of sweat to form on my brow.
A deep, heavy sigh escaped her lips as the intensity of her eyes lessened.
"The things I put up with because I love you." She grumbled as she helped me get back up.
"Come here," she beckoned, her voice not directed not at me but seemingly aimed at someone else somewhere behind me.
A gust of wind swept past me, and I felt something wrap around me. It was the familiar edge of one of the blankets that had kept me warm while. This particular blanket was a vibrant blue, intricately knitted with a square-holed design, with strands of yarn that hung playfully beyond the pattern.
Somehow, this blanket calmed me down and relieved me of the numbness in my legs and the pain I was feeling due to smashing my face into the floor.
'Wait,' I thought, 'This isn't any ordinary blanket.'
Seemingly able to read my thoughts, Elaine chimed in, " Magic blanket. Pretty neat, right?" Her brief response confirmed my suspicions, and I couldn't help but laugh. A full-hearted chuckle escaped my lips.
"Very neat. Now, how about you explain where we are."
"How about I show you instead? You're going to be blown away by what this place has to offer. Come on! Let's go!" she exclaimed, tugging me eagerly toward the door.
"Whoa, take it easy! You're going to yank my arm off!" I exclaimed, stumbling to keep up with her.
In her excitement, Elaine ignored my cries of slowing down and tugged me eagerly into the hallway. I tried to match her pace, striving to avoid being pulled along by her, but Elaine was way too excited and fast for me to keep up. It was as if she were a child, bursting with joy, racing towards the biggest Christmas gift with her name on it.
A cacophony of footsteps filled the air as I lifted my gaze, revealing a multitude of individuals walking up and down the vast corridor. It was a remarkable sight, with an astonishing array of beings: lizardmen, creatures part fox and part human, serpentine folk, fairies flitting about, various types of birds soaring high above, trolls lumbering along, and even living statues.
They completed multiple tasks, from sweeping and mopping the expansive floors to dusting the numerous paintings adorning the walls, carrying trays of food, water, and clothes, and doing other miscellaneous things.
I was astonished by the sheer number of individuals bustling around me, each moving with purpose. My eyes widened in disbelief as I saw such diverse beings coexisting in perfect harmony without any issues. If this had been the three main races, chaos would likely have erupted by now, but that wasn't the case here. Instead, there was a palpable sense of respect among everyone as they diligently went about their tasks with a commendable level of seriousness.
"Isn't it incredible? I can hardly imagine this with humans, dwarves, and elves. Honestly, our little project wishes it could achieve results like these," Elaine said as he pulled me through the crowd of multiracial people, all of whom appeared to be dressed in remarkably similar attire.
'Hold on a second. Are they all maids?'
Each female humanoid wore a simple yet elegant white and black maid uniform, and some appeared quite... different in their attire, particularly the one resembling a living rock formation.
In contrast, the male humanoids donned sophisticated black suits and matching trousers, complemented by crisp white undershirts and sleek black ties.
Elaine seemed to read my mind and affirmed my suspicions, saying, "Yep. They're all maids serving the eccentric owner of this mansion. Now that I think about it, calling it a mansion is a gross understatement. This place is as big as a bloody continent, if not larger!"
Passing by the towering 100x100 panel windows, a vast array of lights shined brightly through the glass and illuminated my face. I was bathed in a million different colors, all brightly and beautifully covering my body. Turning to see where the light was coming from, I stumbled over in shock, looked away, and looked back five times before acknowledging what I saw.
A colossal orb reminiscent of a disco ball hovered majestically above a lush, vibrant forest, casting a dazzling array of colors that danced like a kaleidoscope in the light. In fact, there were five such orbs suspended in the sky, each radiating a brilliant glow that illuminated the landscape below.
As I stood in the gentle warmth of their light, I was filled with a sense of love, comfort, and joy. Yet, beneath all that happiness, a subtle ache of loneliness tugged at my heart.
Below these five radiant suns lay an expansive forest that stretched endlessly before me, teeming with countless varieties of trees, each one harmoniously complementing the others.
Small creatures, including cows, deer, birds, snakes, alligators, and various mythical beings, played together in a serene coexistence. There was no violence, no strife, no discord. Every being seemed to respect their own space and lived in harmony.
Absorbing the scene before me, I found myself frozen in place. My jaw hung open in utter astonishment, rendering me utterly speechless. Even Elaine took a moment to take in the view before pulling me along.
"I've never seen a place quite like this; it feels almost surreal. It's hard to believe anything could exist in such harmony, yet my eyes say otherwise. It's a perfect utopia brought to life by magic," I whispered in awe.
Engrossed in the vivid scene of the outside that was firmly engraved into my mind, I failed to notice that Elaine had come to a stop until I inadvertently collided with her. The impact sent her staggering forward, and she crashed face-first into the door she was standing in front of.
"Ack!" she groaned as the door swung open, propelling us both into a heap on the other side. To my surprise, we weren't alone; another person awaited us there, and we all tumbled together in a chaotic pile.
"What the? OOF!" a startled voice exclaimed as our bodies collided, forming a tangled mass in the doorway.
"LEON! PAY ATTENTION TO WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" Elaine bellowed, using her strength to push herself upright and push me off her and back into the hallway.
"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?" I yelled, finding myself ensnared in the comically large blanket I had. As I wrestled with the fabric, I freed myself just in time to see Elaine helping Mason up, who was on the floor. He also had a blanket similar to mine, but his was inky black.
"Hey there, Leon! It looks like you got stuck with a blanket, too! This thing is awesome! I feel like a superhero patrolling the city at night for crime!" Mason beamed as he enthusiastically twirled around, showing off his blanket that proudly flapped behind him.
As Elaine re-entered the hallway, she continued, "We just need to find Arnold before we can meet with The Queen. She graciously decided to hold off on our meeting until everyone was cared for and awake. Let's not keep her waiting, please."
Choosing not to argue, Mason and I walked closely behind Elaine as she guided us further down the corridor to where Arnold was.
Mason observed the flurry of maids bustling about, diligently attending to various tasks such as scrubbing the floors, wiping down the walls and windows, delivering meals to different rooms, and transporting laundry.
His pace began to slow as he whistled in appreciation of the diverse array of sub-races interacting around us. He scanned the hallway, his expression mirroring the astonishment I had felt just moments earlier.
Eventually, he came to a halt, standing amidst the throng of maids rushing to fulfill their duties. I remained by his side, absorbing the poignant scene before us. What unfolded was a vision of the ultimate aspiration of the three primary races: a life lived in complete harmony, devoid of strife.
Mason appeared to be more affected than I was, tears streaming down his cheeks. He gradually lifted his trembling right arm while his left hand instinctively covered his mouth in disbelief.
Noticing, I gently tapped his shoulder to draw his attention, "Mason? What's the matter? Hey! Mason!"
He shrugged off my hand, shaking his head, and dashed deeper into the sea of people, inadvertently leaving behind his black blanket.
As I bent down to retrieve it from the floor, my voice rose above the cacophony of footsteps reverberating through the corridor. "Mason, you fool! What on earth are you thinking?!?"
I navigated through the crowd of maids, making every effort to be as gentle as possible, offering apologies whenever I inadvertently jostled someone in my haste to reach Mason. Spotting him from behind, I extended my right hand and quickened my pace as I noticed him collapse onto the floor.
"Mason! What— "I began to call out, but my voice faltered. The anguished repetition of a single word, laced with deep, heart-wrenching sadness, echoed in his tone and froze me in place. Hearing the word "mom" stirred an old memory within me. With every mention by Mason, vivid images flickered in my mind, appearing and vanishing with the swiftness of a lightning strike. I could see the younger version of Mason, his face streaked with tears, mourning the loss that would ultimately be revealed as his mother's death. Tragically, the blood he was covered in was her.
Shaking my head and pushing the visions into the corner of my mind, I noticed that the commotion caught Elaine's attention. She made her way through the gathering of maids who were watching Mason, who was sobbing like a small child.
"Clear the way, everyone! Step aside!" she exclaimed, forcefully pushing past the crowd as she gradually approached us.
The young maid with striking twilight black hair turned to face the source of the disturbance, her expression a blend of beauty and bewilderment. Her skin was flawless porcelain and had a sprinkle of freckles that added to her charm. Beneath her captivating, multicolored blue eyes lay a small mole. Her eyebrows were perfectly shaped and well-groomed, while her lips, coated in a rosy red lip balm, shimmered under the bright sunlight streaming through the windows. Her sleek, jet-black hair glistened as well, elegantly styled in a bun that bobbed with each of her movements. She appeared entirely human, lacking any distinctive subracial traits that might have set her apart.
I hurried to his side, wrapping him in a blanket and gently assisting him to his feet. He wobbled initially, but after a moment, the strength returned to his legs, and he stood as if nothing had ever happened.
"Mom!" Mason cried out, his voice distant and trance-like. I instinctively held him back, feeling him push against me, struggling to break free.
"Please, calm down. You're making a scene. Just take a deep breath," I urged, hoping to pull him from the fog that enveloped him.
"Sir? I'm sorry but I don't have children. You must have me mistaken with someone else." She said as she looked rather embarrassed to say such things.
"Mason! Are you out of your mind? Why in the hell would you spew much nonsense to a maid of The Queen?!? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Elaine roared as she finally reached us and smacked Mason in the face.
I rushed to his side, wrapping him in the blanket and gently helping him rise to his feet. He swayed unsteadily at first, but after a brief moment, the vigor returned to his legs, and he stood tall as if nothing had happened.
"Mom!" Mason called out, his voice sounding trancelike. Instinctively, I held him back, feeling his body push against me as he fought to break free.
"Please, just calm down. You're causing quite a scene. Take a deep breath," I pleaded, hoping to get him out of his trance.
"Sir? I apologize, but I don't have any children. You must be confusing me with someone else," she replied, her face flushed with embarrassment for having to say such a thing.
"Mason! Have you lost your mind? Why on earth would you say such ridiculous things to a maid of The Queen?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Elaine shouted as she finally reached us, delivering a sharp slap to Mason's face.
That seemed to return some sense to him as he stayed quiet for a moment before bowing and apologizing, "I'm sorry. I was mistaken because you look similar to my mother. Please forgive me for causing you trouble."
The young maid appeared even more flustered, her cheeks flushing as she waved her hands in a flurry. "There's no need for such formalities. Please, stand up. You are far too esteemed a guest to be bowing to me. If you'll excuse me now." Once she noticed Mason straightening up, she offered a quick bow and began to walk away.
"Wait," Mason called out to her.
The black-haired maid turned around and asked, "Yes, sir?"
"What is your name, if you don't mind me asking?"
"My name is Alice."
"Thank you, Alice. I apologize for the interruption." Mason wiped away the remnants of tears and snot as I gently urged him forward. Mason inhaled deeply, his body shaking uncontrollably as he attempted to calm down. Hee hoo! Then another. Hee hoo! Gradually, each breath brought him closer to a sense of normalcy until only his right arm remained trembling. As he relaxed further, it was just his right hand that continued to twitch disturbingly.
It seemed that his innate spell had triggered, for shortly after, a flurry of questions erupted from the other maids:
"I just saw him! Where did he go?"
"He just disappeared?"
"Who is that boy? He wasn't standing next to the incredibly handsome and charming man just moments ago." The last remark ignited a fiery blush on Elaine's face, her anger evident as veins throbbed visibly.
"Let's move! We need to hurry. The Queen is waiting!" she commanded with urgency.
"Yes, ma'am," we replied in unison, quickening our pace.