Whispers of A Dead Empire

Chapter 31

My eyes fluttered open and locked onto the concrete ceiling of my office. My body hurt in places that I didn't even know existed. I really need to work out more. I groaned as I rolled over to my side, only to have a minor heart attack, when I saw Alessia sitting in my chair, looking over my notebook.

"Alessia, what are you doing?" I asked as I sat up and tried to calm my pounding heart.

She tore her gaze from my notebook and glanced at me. Her eyes focused on me, and all I saw for a moment were two orbs of brilliant gold with sapphire flecks. Her skin was slightly more opaque than before, and her hair had more substance. I felt my breath catch in my throat as I stared at her, entranced for a short time before I cleared my throat and averted my gaze.

She caught me totally off guard there; I didn't expect to see her so alive, nor just chilling in my chair. She closed my notebook and placed it on the table. She mouthed something towards me, yet no words came out. I stared at her lips for a moment as I tried to decipher her words, but I wasn't all that great at reading lips. "I'm sorry, Alessia. I don't understand what you are trying to say to me."

I sat up and rubbed my eyes, and pulled my hair back into a bun. Alessia reached out towards my bag and reached inside, and pulled out a pen. It slightly irked me that she felt she had the right to go through my stuff, though I would say nothing outwardly about it. At least until I knew what she was up to.

She flipped open the notebook to a blank page and jotted something down while I stood up and stretched out a bit before walking over, curious about what she was writing. Once I made it over to the desk, I pulled the notebook away from her and quickly read what she wrote.

Empress, it appears that you cannot hear my words. I apologize for my inability to communicate with you properly. Please forgive me.

I shook my head at her and let out a small chuckle. "It's alright; I don't mind. I'm just glad that I can finally talk to you."

She quickly jotted out more stuff while I took a second to look myself over. My clothes were dirty, and I'm pretty sure that I smelled, and that was a thought that didn't sit too well with me. I think that had to do with kitchen work, though. I detested being covered with food or anything else of the sort. However, the thought sent a pang of sadness through my chest. I didn't realize how much I missed it. I just don't know what food was edible here in the area, and I wasn't gonna take the risk of using anything here, anyway. Not with zombies that roamed around. That's a quick way to get sick.

I stretched out, and my nose curled when I confirmed the ugly truth. I stank. Maybe it was time I jumped back into the lake and got clean and created a new set of clothing. Hopefully, a set will last longer, so I can store these for later. I just didn't know what I wanted, and I had to be careful cause I may splurge with essence that I don't have.

I glanced back over to the notepad once I heard the scribbling stop and skimmed it over.

Anyway, it has come to my knowledge that you have been training with the lieutenant, and I find that information somewhat troublesome. He is a bloodthirsty skeleton, and I worry about your wellbeing.

I nodded my head and pulled a chair over to my desk to sit down. "I don't think you have too much to worry about. They all know what's at stake if I get hurt. Besides, I'm just trying to get skills set up for when the domain opens up. Trying to find my path and all that."

I rested my elbows on the table and interlaced my fingers as I watched her face. A flicker of a pout appeared on her face before it vanished, and she grabbed the pen once more and scribbled.

You didn't think to come to me first?

"It's not that I didn't think about coming to you first. You were just busy training, and I wanted to learn some close-range combat skills, and he seemed like the best bet. I didn't realize that it meant that much to you." I stared at her for a few moments, thinking over her words. I definitely think she is the most expressive out of the bunch by far. It's kind of amusing how seriously she takes her job, though.