Mr Night

Book 2: Chapter 6

-HER-

The next day I woke up quite anxious. My aunt helped me dress for the journey first thing in the morning. She had packed my clothes yesterday evening after dinner. She was happy that I was finally going to leave her house, and she did nothing to hide it.

"Would you miss me?" I asked her as she tightened my corset.

"Of course," she smiled at me widely in the mirror reflection. I fought my tears while trying to keep my face void of emotions.

"Well, I will miss you too," I told her coldly.

"Of course. I wonder if I was missed when you disappeared for months. You said you were going to your father's, didn't you?" She asked. I remained quiet. Initially, I was expecting her to be quite angry with me for lying about my whereabouts, but as soon as my father mentioned that he'd be taking me with him, she seemed to have lost her anger.

"Well, I did go to him," I muttered. It would not be smart to tell her the truth or hint at it. She laughed at me, shooting me a glare through the mirror's reflection.

"Sure, you were with him. I am choosing to believe you this time since you're not a monkey in my circles anymore," She smiled, looking more relieved than ever. Even though I never craved any love or attention from my aunt, seeing her so happy at my departure was hurting me for some reason.

... or maybe, I knew the reason exactly. No one ever wanted to have me in their life. Everyone just wanted to get rid of me...

Was I that unwanted?

I blinked away my tears again and swallowed the lump building in my throat as I did my hair. Meanwhile, my aunt removed any reminder of my existence from my room.

After I got ready, we had a quick breakfast and even shorter goodbyes before I left with my father. Even though I kept it all under my skin and never let anything show, from inside, I was falling apart again. Just when it felt like I was getting used to dealing with the wound I had in my heart, another wound opened up.

"Don't be sad," My father assured me. However, the smile on his face told me that he couldn't care less. He had more important things than me, "You'll not miss your aunt or her house once you're home with me,"

I nodded at him coldly and looked out of the carriage as we drove towards the bustling city. I found it odd how we stopped by a random building that seemed to be some office. I was confused as he took my luggage and walked inside the office.

"Where are we going?" I asked him, reluctantly following him inside the building. I felt extremely out of place inside the building that was only filled with men. My father also looked out of the place, walking with my luggage. However, the more surprising part was that no one paid any attention to us. I followed my father anyway since he seemed to know where he was going.

We reached the other end of the building, where there was a massive door that would most likely lead to the street behind the building, but oh, I was so wrong. As soon as we reached the door, my father muttered something to the guard, who nodded and opened the door. My father walked out without waiting for me. I followed suit, not having any other option.

As soon as I stepped out of the door, I was met with a drizzle of rain which was quite odd. It wasn't raining when we entered the building. It was pretty sunny. I glanced around, and things looked quite bizarre too. It didn't feel like the centre of the city anymore. It felt like I was somewhere else.

While I was looking around, my father managed to call another cab and load my luggage in it. He helped me get inside it before he got inside himself.

"Where is this place?" I asked him, looking at the oddly shaped buildings. But those buildings weren't the thing that I found the oddest. The people I saw on the street were bizarre. Some had a tail; some had four hands; some had two heads...I blinked my eyes several times to check if I was seeing right.