Street Mouse 2

6. Was Better Forgotten.

Several days had passed since Frosino had taken Y/N up to the hilltop, and although he continued his efforts daily, she was still no closer to regaining her memories. She had mentioned again that she found something about the servants' quarters familiar, but Frosino insisted that she had no memories there and that she was forbidden from going there again.

Despite his warnings, Y/N couldn't ignore her curiosity. So one stormy night after everyone had gone to sleep, she slipped out of her room and crept down the dark moonlit halls of the castle. Not long after she reached the ground floor and had slunk past the locked doors of the ballroom she arrived at the doorway that opened onto a set of stairs down into the servants' quarters.

The door was open so it was easy to slip inside. She crept down the dark and narrow hallway, her heart pounding as she passed closed door after closed door. I know His Grace says that I have no history here, but everything is so familiar. Even though the light was dim, the simple plaster walls and doors were so striking. It felt as though she had been there before.  "I-I remember running down this hall..." She whispered, the hallway flashing in her mind's eye as she ran through it from a much lower perspective than she was used to.

Excilerarted by her first recovered memory, she rushed to the end of the hall and stepped into a dimly lit kitchen. Copper pots hung like bats over the scrubbed wooden table, and there wasn't a single ember left glowing in the ovens by the wall.

"I remember this place!" Despite the only light coming from small windows set into the top of the wall, she recognized the kitchen. A large trough caught her eye, and images of sitting in that tub filled with soap and cold water while a woman complained about her tangled hair came to mind. "I can't believe I was able to fit in this bucket!" She laughed quietly, picking it up with ease.

And this fireplace! She used to read to me here! She thought, casting her eyes on the cold and vacant hearth. She remembered that a chair used to sit by it and the same woman would read stories to her in a thick accent. It was also her favorite spot to sit while sewing, she could see in her minds-eye the woman embroidering details onto a small dress with a small smile on her lips. And she made my clothes, who was she? She wondered, sure that she had not seen any powerfully built woman with dark swirling markings on her arms like the woman in her memory.

"AAAHHHHH!" She let out a shrill scream as she saw the beaten and bloody body of that woman fall to the floor, her eyes lifeless, from the wardrobe she had opened. No-no it can't be! She can't be dead! Y/N thought, whirling around the dark kitchen in a panic.

She tried to block the memory out, but it consumed her every thought. She's can't be gone! She's the only one I remember! Tears came to her eyes at the thought that someone so dear to her had been brutally murdered, and she couldn't even remember her name. I-I have to get away from here!

Without a clear goal in mind, Y/N spotted another door on the far wall of the kitchen that hopefully led to the outside. She rushed to it and threw it open. Ascending a small flight of stone stairs she found herself beside the exterior of the castle, the wind lashing the pouring rain into her face and thunder rumbling in the heavens above.

Ignoring that she had already begun to shiver, she dashed across the square as a bolt of lightning crackled overhead and revealed that the gates had been left open. Her panicked mind filled with nothing but confusion and the thought of escape, she sped through the opening without a second thought.

The storm was even worse in the forested mountains, the tree cover blocking out all but dull flashes of light as the wind howled in the branches. Y/N had only run a few paces into the forest and she was already lost, her thin nightdress soaked by the cold rain and her bare feet scrapped and bloody, still, she continued to run tears streaming down her face and joining the rain.

. . .

"Frosino! Frosino- I-I mean Your Grace!" Alfonse babbled as he barged into his study, correcting his address when he saw the sender and imposing figure of the Archduke standing by the window, silhouetted by a flash of lightning. "I need to tell you something!" He continued, the urgency of what he had to say driving him on.

"What is it, Alfonse? Do you have any idea how late it is-" He replied in a cold and indifferent tone as he watched the storm rage outside.

"I..t's Y/N, Your Grace!" The old coachman said, kneading his hat in worry. "She's-"

"What has happened?!" Frosino interrupted urgently, turning around and crossing the room in a few quick strides. "Where is she?!" He demanded, his tone urgent and his expression panicked as he placed his hands on his shoulders.

"I-I don't know, I saw her run across the courtyard and slip through the gates!" He wrung his hands, squishing his hat further. "You-you said you wanted me to inform you if I ever saw the little miss leave the castle grounds so-"

"You let her leave the castle grounds in this weather and did not go after her?" Frosino asked, his voice low and deadly calm as his grip tightened and his gaze pierced him like a cold blade.

"But-but you said to tell you immediately if-" Alfonse muttered, gazing down at the floor, trembling. He remembered the Archduke giving the order that any movement of Y/N outside the castle walls would be reported to him immediately, under threat of severe punishment should anyone fail.

"YOU IMBECILE!" Frosino shoved the old man away, livid. "If she suffers so much as a scratch I will be sure you suffer tenfold - now go wake all the servants!" He commanded, a look of fury twisting his noble features.

"Y-yes Your Grace!" The coachman bowed his head, stunned and horrified by his change in demeanor over the past few days.

"And saddle my horse!" He barked, tieing his long raven locks tightly behind his neck as he strode from the room in search of his riding cloak. "No one is to return to Castle de Crivell until Y/N is found!"

A/N

Frosino's yandere side is really starting to show. How long before he breaks entirely do you think?

I'm so loopy rn lol, stayed up watching Only Murders in The Building. So worth it, but I'm gonna regret it tomorrow. T~T

Until next time I'll see you on the other side

~J. C. Coltt.~