Softness like none Lee had ever experienced before covered her body. These sheets felt like they were made from an angel’s cloth and the pillow plumply stuffed with their feathers. The bed yearned for her to sink in further, to never leave its grasp. Her sore muscles felt rejuvenated after a good night's rest.
Along with the bed, this was the first time in a week that she had gotten to properly bathe. Going in the river with Shellorn was fun and all, but nothing compares to an actual deep cleansing of one’s self.
Lee’s forearms slid over the sheets, from her side to above her head. The clutches of the bed were loosening and she tensed her muscles, stretching her entire body at once.
Prying her eyelids open, her sight was met by gentle rays of the sun coming from the window to her right. After glancing at the morning view, she checked the spot in bed next to her.
It was empty.
This wasn’t surprising. Shellorn usually woke up much earlier than her. She just thought she would wait for her, since they were in a stranger’s house. That was just testament to how much Shellorn trusted their hosts. Or at least that’s what Lee told herself.
Shaking that faint feeling of loneliness, she propped her body into a sitting position, still procrastinating, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Just as the thought of laying back down whispered into her ear, a gentle knock and soft voice came from the other side of the bedroom door.
“Ms.Lee, are you awake?”
After a few long blinks, trying to focus her vision, she replied.
“Uh, yes. I’m awake.”
Maybe only physically, her mind still lagged behind.
“May I enter?”
Lee nodded, but then realized she couldn’t see her through the door.
“Ah, yep feel free to come in.”
She swept her legs over the side of the bed and stood up in one swift motion. For some reason she didn’t want it to look like she just woke up, even though it felt unavoidable since she was still in her provided pajamas.
When she turned back around, a cute maid with bright green eyes stood patiently with her arms crossed.
“Mistress Vassauge requests your presence in the library. Let me know when you’re ready to go and I’ll escort you.” Nayu said.
After the brief message, she quietly stepped out of the room, presumably waiting for her outside. When Lee heard the sound of the door closing, she scrambled to get ready.
Her mind raced along with her body as she tossed her pajamas to the side and began sliding on her newly acquired outfit. The host, who so generously gave her a room and meal, had asked for her. She wasn’t about to make her wait.
While putting on her black skirt she still thought was too short, she reflected on the last few days.
How’d we end up staying here when just yesterday, Shell proudly proclaimed we were broke and had nowhere to go? Scratch that, how the hell did I go from waking up in a prison cell to sleeping in a five star mansion? I don't belong here. Why are they so nice to me? I haven’t done anything to deserve it. Do they have an ulterior motive? Am I not seeing something? Nothing makes sense, things are moving so fast.
All the breath had left her lungs, her face was starting to turn red.
She wasn’t breathing.
Her hands were jittering and her legs trembled. The light from the room seemed overwhelming due to the dilation of her pupils.
Calm. Calm down.
Water flowing, deep breaths and a warm embrace. Lee thought back to the last time her mind had raced this fast and how she overcame that onslaught of thoughts.
After regaining her composure by taking some deep breaths, she finished getting ready for the day and left the room.
Nayu greeted her with a soft smile and small bow.
“Right this way.”
She started heading down the hallways and Lee followed behind.
“I-I don’t know where Shell went off to, but-”
“That is ok. Mistress Vassauge only requested you. Mr. Vassauge and Ms. Shellorn left together this morning to run some errands that he didn’t finish.”
“Oh,” Lee thought back to how they ran into Stronwen, sidetracking him from his business at the market, “Sorry about that, we kind of distracted him.”
“Do not fret over yesterday at all. The fault only lies with his incompetence- ergh I mean forgetfulness.”
This was the first time Lee had seen Nayu’s perfect demeanor falter at all, even if it was just a small slip of the tongue.
“I’m sure they will accomplish their tasks. Ms. Shellorn seems like a very dependable lady.”
“Mhm.”
Although she could be quite silly and goofy, she had been the most dependable person Lee had met in her life. Even after knowing her for only a week, she felt that she could trust her with anything. Well, except maybe one thing, but that was more because Lee didn’t think she would believe it even if she told her. Suddenly waking up in a different world didn’t seem like a common occurrence here, so it was probably best to still keep that to herself.
“So she only wanted to see me? What for?”
“I do not know. I am just the escort. Now this way.”
She gracefully turned a corner, the ribbons holding up her hair up flowed behind her dainty walk.
While they had been conversing, Nayu was leading her through winding hallways. Lee had long given up trying to map out the mansion in her head. It was much too expansive and confusing. She didn’t even know which level they were on.
Lee smiled.
Silence had halted their short conversation and now she was simply following the maid from behind. Nayu’s small stature emphasized her cute and youthful charm. Lee admired every mannerism of hers. She was just too adorable. If she had less self control, her arms would’ve wrapped around her in a tight hug.
She embodied the perfect little sister that Lee had always dreamed of having. Dressing her up in different outfits would be so much fun and styling her bright blonde hair would melt her heart.
Nayu stopped in front of two large doors.
“We are here.”
She opened them and gestured for Lee to enter first.
Still smiling from Nayu’s charm, she entered the library.
“Thank you, you’re so kind.”
“I do as I’m told. No gratitude required.”
Lee opened her mouth to retaliate her statement but choked on her words.
She should’ve expected this opulence, but the library had completely taken her off guard. Entering the large open space made any words sliding off her tongue melt away. Her arms fell limp to her sides as she took in the spectacle.
Overwhelmingly large bookshelves stood aligned like soldiers in form, one after another. They surrounded the entirety of the room, leaving a well protected pocket of space in the middle. In that space were many tables, each engulfed in a plethora of papers, folders, ink vials, quills and other miscellaneous items.
Just above the tall shelves was the second story balcony overseeing from above. Lee couldn’t see all of it from the first floor, but the shelves didn’t look quite as intimidating up there. They only came up to a person’s chest area, but on top of those shelves, in glass cases, were weapons, scrolls and objects that she didn’t even recognize, let alone be able to categorize.
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There didn’t seem to be any windows. Well, if there were, then the shelves were covering them, making the room a bit darker. The only light source seemed to come from the opaque end covers, capping the rows of bookshelves.
Her gaze continued up. That is also where her eyes stopped and her mouth gaped.
The entirety of the ceiling seemed to be one large mural. Starting from the edges of the walls and crawling all the way to the climax on top, where a bright sphere was entwined with glowing veins of different colors.
Different figures covered the rest of the space. Due to the sheer amount, Lee had trouble focusing on a single one for too long. There was a small man riding a boar, a beautiful silhouette of some sort of bird, the dragon from the stained glass painting in the dining room and a black serpent dripping in a venomous green liquid.
“You seem like quite the fan of art.”
Tirany interrupted her dumbfounded expression. Lee quickly closed her mouth and regained her composure.
“I-I mean who wouldn’t be amazed seeing something like this. It's breathtaking in all the right ways. Plus, this and the picture in the dining room seem to be telling stories.”
“I had a close friend design and make them. I’ll have to ask him about the meaning and story behind each piece. Well, the one in the dining room is obvious, but this one always perplexed me a bit.”
They both looked up at the ceiling, taking it in.
“It’s almost like some sort of fantasy novel.” Lee murmured.
“Do you enjoy reading?”
“Mhm.” Lee nodded.
She thought back to how she spent most of her days growing up, often escaping reality in ink filled pages.
“I thought you forgot how to read. Didn’t Shellorn say she was helping you re-learn?”
Lee cringed her entire body. She had let her guard down.
“Uh, well… I still remember some things about myself before I lost my memories. Like my name and such. It’s very weird I know, I apologize.”
Tirany smiled, “No need to apologize for something out of your control. Oh Nayu, you are free to leave.”
She had been silently standing behind them patiently.
“Yes mistress.” She gave a quick bow before leaving.
“She’s such a sweet girl,” Tirany looked back down at Lee, “The reason I called you hear today is because I thought we could come up with some sort of mutually beneficial arrangement for us.”
“Mutually beneficial arrangement?”
Lee repeated back the words, a bit puzzled at what she was getting at.
“Yes. You and Shellorn need a place to stay, so I will provide that given you two work for me.”
“Oh?” Lee bowed, “You have provided so much for me and Shellorn. I will do everything in my power to pay you back.”
“Oh stop it. No need for formalities,” Tirany waved her hand asking for her to come closer.
She obliged her non-verbal request.
“Shellorn had mentioned at dinner last night, well, to put it in her vernacular, you are ‘really good with words.’ From my short conversations with you, I agree, you are a very well spoken young girl. You also seem to have a very unique perspective on things, which I value.”
“Thank you, you’re too kind.”
“I have been looking for… well an assistant is a good name for the position. With my position as minister, I am constantly sent a plethora of different documents. I’ve been stubbornly dealing with them myself so far, but as you can see it has become quite overwhelming.”
She gestured towards all the tables littered with documents.
“I would find it quite useful if I had someone to sort them for me.”
“Um… I’m sorry to question you, but do you think picking someone who barely knows how to read is a smart decision for such an important job?”
Tirany lightly chuckled.
“I would of course help you at first. On my days off I can continue to teach you how to read. Shellorn has said you already made substantial progress in a very short period of time. As you continue, I will slowly start increasing your workload and the diversity of your tasks. I would like for you to eventually become more than just a file sorter…
“Do not worry, I will not ask of you more than you can do, but I do ask that you work diligently for me. I’m not going to give you free room and board without compensation, that would just be bad business.” She grinned.
A-a job?
Lee wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t just heard it directly from Tirany’s mouth. A job offer to work in a beautiful mansion had just fallen from the clouds right in front of her. Not only that, but also free room and board.
She could move out of Shellorn’s shack and stop relying on her for everything. She could carry her own weight and take care of herself, something she’s been longing for since she got here.
Not knowing how to react at first, she just stared blankly at her, but then realized she needed to reply.
“Thank you Mistress Vassauge for your generous offer. I gladly accept.”
“Lee please, call me Tirany.”
Tirany had the rest of the day off, so they spent it working on Lee’s reading literacy. She showed her the “cheat sheet” she made at Shellorn’s that helped her with the characters of this world, since phonetically it was the same language as hers. Tirany seemed to enjoy her ingenuitive ideas and continued to help her “re-learn” how to read. She made great progress now with a proper teacher.
###
Later in the evening, Lee was working by herself in the library. Tirany had left earlier to attend to other matters. Nayu had also come and delivered some small sandwiches and water for her. She was currently snacking on them while deep in a book.
She was more or less fluent at this point, while just using her cheat sheet occasionally to check things. Having Tirany help her allowed her to make huge progress. She hadn’t started on any actual work, she wanted her to just become fluent again.
Tirany had actually told her not to overwork herself and that she could take a break at any time, but Lee felt a sense of urgency. She didn’t know where it came from, but she wanted to find out as much as she could about this world.
Mrs. Vassauge recommended a book for her. It was a fictional book, but it took on elements of actual history. It was about a dwarven king and his rise to power and conquest. He, along with a boar he raised from infancy, helped overcome the terror of invading monsters. The dwarf may have resembled one of the figures in the ceiling Lee spotted earlier.
Even though it was fiction, it was supposed to be realistic fiction that was based on actual events. She kept this in mind and was using it as a reference to figure out the normalities of this world.
As Lee was fiddling through her notes trying to make sense of a word she hadn’t encountered before, a deep voice directly behind her made her jump out of her seat.
“Ms. Lee.”
“Agh”
Turning around after slamming the book down, she found the butler standing behind her with his usual sophisticated demeanor. His monocle gleamed in the dimm lighting masking one of his eyes.
“Excuse my impertinent intrusion, but may I borrow some of your time?”
“Oh, yes… Chenwore, correct?”
He made an affirmative grunt.
“Please follow me.”
They went back into the maze of hallways and somehow popped out from the back of the mansion, into the garden.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to navigate this place by myself.
The sun was eclipsing behind the trees in the garden, creating a sea of orange lava in the sky. It was apparently a lot later in the day than Lee thought.
I must’ve been really caught up with reading.
She smiled, thinking about how that was going to soon be her normal.
They walked through the grass surrounding the mansion until they were next to a little shed that she recognized.
“Oh?”
This was the shed that she spotted Chenwore tieing the dog to yesterday, but it was a bit different now. It had quite the addition.
It now had another small building attached to its side like a growth. It had a blank nameplate over the entrance. It was big enough for Lee to crawl into and have plenty of spare room.
“I hope this is to your liking. Mistress Vassauge gives her apologies that it cannot come into the mansion. She asked me to provide it with adequate shelter, please let me know if this is sufficient.”
The new construction was supposedly a dog house, but it was on the larger side. It seemed like even the dog got to stay in a mansion, at least comparatively to a normal dog house.
On cue, the black dog trotted out from the entrance. As soon as it saw Lee, its tail began wagging and it immediately walked towards her and started playfully headbutting her legs.
She crouched down petting it, trying to settle down its excitement.
“Did you build all of this today?”
“Yes, Mistress Vassague prioritized this task above all my other duties today. I hope it is sufficient for your pet.”
“Oh, this is more than enough.”
Perhaps too much for this little demon.
“Thank you Chenwore,”
Lee then turned her violet eyes to the dog. It looked back at her with sombered eyes.
“Nayu has taken the responsibility of feeding it as well, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
Crap!
She had been so caught up with her work in the library that she had completely forgotten about the responsibilities of taking care of the dog. It didn’t help that Shellorn usually reminded her to do things such as feed it.
“Oh, you guys are already doing so much. He’s my dog after all. Thank you, but I can feed him.”
“Very well, I will inform Nayu,” He looked off into the distant sunset, “It's getting late, may I escort you back to your room?”
Please do. I’ll get lost otherwise.
“Yes. Again Chenwore, thank you, and please express my gratitude to Mrs. Vassauge and everybody else.”
“Consider it done.”
He accompanied her back to her room before making his leave. She hadn’t exhausted her mental state like this in quite a while. The thoughts flowing through her mind felt slow and lethargic, but it felt kind of good. She quickly got ready for bed and coddled herself into the soft sheets.
“I hope Shell is alright.”
She yawned, looking over at the empty space in bed next to her.
“Tirany said her and Stronwen were running errands back in town. I’m sure they’re having a blast together. Nothing to worry about.”
A tiny tinge of jealousy struck her stomach as her friend was out with someone else having fun, but she pushed it away and smothered her face into the pillow.
This day was so much fun. It felt so right. I have a friend, a job and a place to stay. Am I really finding a new life here? It's too good to be true. I love it here. I don’t ever want to leave.
Sleep quickly took hold of her as lovely thoughts floated through her mind. The peaceful smile of a beautiful girl matched perfectly with the lustrous bed she was in. This newfound optimism fit her better than her usual cloudy and pessimistic attitude.