After the fortunate disaster, Leah learnt a few things about the mansion. Her room was on the third floor. So even if she wanted to escape, it would be hard to do so. The garden where she was two days ago started after a long, wide path underneath her window.
She ignored what the first two floors had. So it wasn't important at the moment. What was important was the multitude of ghosts in the garden. She didn't see Dina. At some point, Leah thought that the ghost would come at her because she survived. She should be blamed. It was the correct reaction from a complete stranger.
But it didn't happen.
Standing by the window, watching the ghosts as the previous Aurora did, the door opened. Leah could feel that someone was in the room, staring at her, waiting for a word. Somehow, the scene sounded too familiar.
"Good morning, Miss Aurora! I will be your new maid starting from today," a familiar voice said.
An unwelcome visitor visited her before she had the time to think of what she wanted for her future. What did she want from now? Did she want this marriage? Playing the wife of a rich man and living her life as a doll?
Aurora's skin was like a baby, soft and smooth. All her life, she never had to do anything. A room full of everything she wanted and servants to do all her desires.
Leah didn't have that. She had to work for everything she wanted and all she wanted was enough money to live a comfortable life. Now that she had this comfortable life, she didn't know what would come next.
"Miss… I'm Dina. I hope I'll be up to your standards."
The sudden name made her whip her head around and stare at the unwelcome face. The room shifted to become smaller in Leah's eyes, suffocating her comfort.
The woman in front of her was none other than the real Dina, like the first day she had seen her, with her cute maid outfit and big brown eyes. Her freckles added more cutesy touch to her face frame. However… this woman was dead. Or was it? Maybe she was a twin?
Twins existed so it should explain why there was another Dina in her room.
"Are you taking me for a fool?"
The maid got flustered briefly before she wore a hard face. "I'm not, miss. I'm here to serve you."
"Come again?"
"I'm Dina. I…"
"Don't screw with me," Leah yelled angrily. "Are you some kind of twin and someone asked you to mess with my mind? Or maybe you think I killed your sister and decided it's time to get some petty revenge?"
The servant's eyes filled with tears. She apologized in whispers and asked to be accorded a moment. Leah told her to do whatever she wanted. So in the end, the maid disappeared into the bathroom and didn't come out.
Leah wanted to dance, just to think. There was too much anger in her to just let it go. She made the first step but stopped. Her body didn't feel like it wanted to do that. Long gone were the days where she had to practice to keep men's eyes on her.
Every moment counted, even breaks. Thinking while keeping hands empty wasn't something she could afford. So she just blended dancing into everything she could. With time, it became a habit. Like a drug, she couldn't think correctly without dancing.
But for her to dance and think, she needed to be comfortable enough to focus. And now, she couldn't. The appearance of this servant threw her off. She felt anxious and the room felt dark all of a sudden.
She didn't want a ghost in her room. It was her only safe zone.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. Inhale and exhale till her heart rate became normal. Then, she started dancing. She twirled and thought, organizing everything.
It was definitely a twin. Once the woman would come out of the bathroom, Leah would explain what happened two days ago, how a glowing circle appeared beneath their feet and forced them to teleport midair. As for how she survived, she didn't know how to explain that.
She knew there was someone who caught her but nothing else. Just a blurring memory where a single smile was her prize.
Her feet paused when the door opened and another servant entered. This time, the new servant was a fresh new face, with a bright smile. The girl bowed her head respectfully, her hands clutched together in front of her.
"Hello Miss. I've been ordered to be your new servant. I hope I'll be up to your standards."
Once again, Leah felt weird, as if the world was turning. She could handle the dizziness from coughing blood but not this. Someone was trying to mess with her or something. Were they doing some kind of prank?
Leah chuckled.
"This must be a prank, right? You're pranking me. Haha… So funny! Now, cut it off!"
The servant was flabbergasted. Leah took it as an affirmative sign. She walked to the window and sat on the stool, resuming her studies of ghosts. This phenomenon fascinated her, like the flower that ate her before her death.
She was also genuinely curious about the rest of the city. But the stranger's attitude made her question if she should ask questions or not.
"I don't know why you say this, miss," the servant was flustered. "I've been told that you didn't have a maid and I'm the one chosen for you. My room is closer to yours. If you need anything, just ring the bell and I'll be here in a minute."
Leah didn't look at her. She refused to be part of a play she didn't consent for. If someone needed help for something, she might say yes and help. But not a prank. Pranks were bad. They were just bullying disguised as harmful jokes.
The servant walked back to the door and opened it. Because of her master's attitude, she forgot to introduce herself. She wore another bright smile, less cheerful than the first.
"By the way miss, I'm Cindy. Nice to meet you. I'm sorry if I offended you in any way, I just want to do my job."
Leah threw her a glance, wrapping her arms around her tightly.
"Why are you apologizing?" she nodded. "I'm sure someone higher up asked you to do this. As long as you don't harm me, I won't touch you."
Cindy brightened. Leah couldn't help but find her naïve and too kind. For the first time, she wondered if she was really part of a joke.
She sprang from her seat and ran to the bathroom. When she opened the door, she found nothing. Not a single touch of Dina.
Leah took a deep breath but the bathroom smelled normal. No additional tweaking and everything was as she just left it. Her mind was racing with questions when Cindy peaked over her shoulder.
Aurora wasn't tall. She was more of the short side and Cindy was pretty tall.
"Is something the matter, miss?"
Leah jumped up, almost bumping her head with Cindy's chin.
"I'm sorry," she said, feeling ashamed. Clearly, she was wrong and Cindy wasn't playing a prank. Maybe Dina started her little petty revenge. In stories, ghosts took grudge over anything.
Cindy shook her head. "I'll come back soon, miss. I will clean everything and make your room as brand as new."
Leah smiled. There was nothing to do. She always cleaned after herself. It was a habit she got from her previous life. No one wanted a burden around.
"Tell me, didn't you see an average height girl with brown hair and eyes, freckles too?"
Cindy shook her head. "No one comes to the third floor, miss. The Duke made it clear that no one should cross the line or we'd be fired," Cindy glanced aside, guilty. "I… I don't think no one will be here after what happened."
Ah! Leah realized that it was true. No one would be somewhere the risk of being killed was high. She nodded, understanding.
But if no one came to the third floor, why was the stranger around?
"Wait," Leah caught Cindy's wrist. "Before you leave, tell me what they say about what happened to me?"
"What do you mean, miss?"
Leah raised an eyebrow.
"I almost died."
"Ah!" Cindy seemed to understand. "The Duke is mad that someone almost killed you with poison but it won't happen again. It's safe now, miss. No one will harm you."
Leah stared at Cindy for a few seconds, confused. The stranger was definitely someone important. He wouldn't leave what happened a secret.
"But…"
She definitely lived that. She got teleported to the sky and fell. Something caught her, or someone… but it definitely happened. Why didn't anyone know that?
"But yesterday, I was with Dina at night. I woke up and caught her… having a nightmare. I woke her up and something happened. I almost fell to my death. I was so scared of dying that I lost consciousness. Then, I woke up in my room and tried checking outside. I met a stranger who was heavily injured. I helped him and came back to my room. I thought someone would come to check on me… Why didn't anyone come to check on me? I thought you came to check on me."
Cindy's eyes widened in disbelief. Her eyebrows raised high as if she was trying to process what she just heard. Leah understood it was shocking but she wanted to understand why no one bothered to check on what happened. Wasn't she important?
Wasn't she meant to play some political piece in an unwanted marriage?
Cindy stared at Leah as if she just sprouted a second head, questioning if her lady lost her mind after staying a few days alone. The servant heard from the other servants that their lady was crazy and had a knack of driving everyone insane. She didn't want to be manipulated. All servants warned her to not believe her lady's behavior.
After controlling her expression, she smiled, wondering if accepting this job was the correct choice.
"Dina? Who is she, miss? Does she even exist?"
Leah stepped back, chuckling. She was tempted to laugh, just to cause another reaction than the one on Cindy's face. But she didn't do that. Instead, she got angrier.
"You think I'd invent a ghost just to entertain myself?"
Cindy tried to keep a smile. The entire situation put her on edge. There were a lot of rules she had to follow and the head servant was clear in following them. She didn't want to lose her job, not after how she broke one of them the last time.
"Miss, I've never heard of a Dina working here. Perhaps… you heard her name wrong or mistook someone for her? Someone you used to know?"
Leah couldn't believe her ears. It was maddening how her concerns were dismissed, suggesting she wasn't in her right mind. It infuriated her more. For sure, Leah wasn't insane and she wasn't sick to the point of hallucinating.
"I've never had a Dina in my life. I'm sure you know something. Her body was in the garden. She fell alongside me. I saw her body there, full of blood. I. saw. Her," Leah grabbed Cindy's shoulders, squeezing hard.
She refused to believe that everything was the product of her imagination.
"If you went for a walk to the garden, miss, then… I'm sure you've seen some… things. Please, miss, don't ask me about them. The Duke forbids us to talk about it. Just… I beg you, let it go. I'm sure life's treating you well enough to let some things… go."
Cindy was sure now that her miss wasn't in her right mind. She said one thing at first then now, she was confessing to being in the garden. The best thing to do was to go along till she found a way out.
The servant widened her smile, reassuring Leah.
"Strange things happen here at night. Best not dwell on them. I'm sure it's not good for your health to think about them. The others say you've been… unwell since the accident you had when you were young."
Leah was devastated. Something in her made her feel like she hallucinated everything, sowing seeds of doubts and fear. She tried to recall who saved her but it only made her feel worse.
"Who says I'm sick?"
Cindy peeked at the door, struggling to control her fear. The other servants told her of an old story where Aurora did something terrible. She feared for her life.
"I will inform the Duke that you wish to speak to him, miss. He has more answers than I can give you."
Cindy exited the room, almost running. She only halted her pace when she found herself on the first floor, in the familiarity of the faces around her and the laughing expressions reacting to her fear.
As for Leah, she stood there, in front of an open door, biting her nails.
"But I'm not hallucinating…" she whispered. "I'm not…"
Her thoughts were in chaos and she wasn't ready to accept the truth. Could the Duke give her answers?
"What about him? Did my mind invent him too?" she wondered after freezing there for minutes.
The stranger and the blood, all of it, was it false?