The Bird and the Garden 3: The Final Adventure

Chapter 61: Mono, Part Three

Mono's eye opened, her lips curling into a smile. Tossing the blankets off her body, she nearly flung herself from her bed, hurriedly putting on her maid uniform. She gazed at herself in the mirror for a moment, adjusting her headpiece before making her bed again, smoothing out the wrinkles. Only stopping to brush her hair, she stepped into the hall.

It had been nearly two months since she started living in the ramshackle home. It had never been so clean before; Mono was always on top of everything. Sweeping didn't take long; she knew every nook and cranny that dust tended to flock to, and after time resumed it had been finished. She stood outside the First Vao's bedroom door, her ear pressed against the wood. She couldn't hear anything on the other side; he must have been in the kitchen by now enjoying a cup of tea.

Perfect for Mono. She tried the doorknob. Locked, as usual. The First Vao didn't like people inside his room without invitation; he was always paranoid about assailants, even though Grimmore was a fortified city with weaponry that the rest of Twist couldn't fathom. Locked doors, however, were no trouble to Mono. She had memorized where every pin in the complicated lock was and how to set them just right, having learned lock-picking for this very reason. With a pin she always kept secure in her pocket, she slipped the end into the keyhole, jimmying it around.

Click, cl-click, pop.

The door swung open, revealing the bedroom. It was relatively clean; his bed was a mess, looking as if he had rolled out of it and walked away. Mono walked around his room, her hand trailing his vanity. No dust. That was to be expected though; the First Vao was very fond of brushing his overgrown mass of hair. His desk though, was another story.

It was the desk he used to maintain his weapons. There were a few oil stains in the wood, and an assortment of screws and bolts were scattered around in chaotic organization. For once, Mono wouldn't clean it. Not because she didn't want to - she'd love to clean it and earn a compliment from him. If she moved anything and he couldn't find it, he'd have a panic attack that he'd be killed. So she left it untouched, moving to his dresser and pulling it open.

Her lips curled into an odd smile as she stared down at his clothes, her eye growing hazy. His wardrobe wasn't anything impressive; it was mostly the same thing - his combat outfit, tailored by Grimmore's biggest tailor store. But there were a few that were different from the rest.

Mono pulled out a t-shirt he had bought. He wore it often to bed; Mono had picked it out for him, since he hadn't bought his own clothes since he was seventeen. She stared at the shirt, running her thumb over the soft fabric, a breathy sigh escaping her lips. And finally, she pressed it against her face and sniffed. She lowered the shirt, another sigh escaping her lips followed by a shiver.

Clink.

She looked back at the door. One of Ruby's dolls had been walking by with a glass of water, her button eyes staring in disbelief. Or at least that was what Mono assumed. It was hard to tell what the doll was feeling. She didn't even know what the doll was doing with a glass of water; she didn't need to eat or drink, she was a doll. In the blink of an eye, Mono was crouched in front of the doll.

"Choose your fate: did you see anything?"

The doll shivered, shaking her little head. Mono gave her a pat.

"Good girl. Now begone."

The doll nodded and quickly scrambled away in terror. Mono glared after her, watching the doll round the corner before folding the shirt neatly and placing it back where she found it. She didn't want to leave without something, however. Moving back to the First Vao's bed, she pulled back the blankets, quickly finding what she was looking for. A hair that stood nearly as tall as the First Vao. With hair so long, it was only natural he'd pull a strand or two out as he slept. Mono rolled the hair up in her fingers before tucking it safely into the pocket of her uniform, ensuring to lock the door behind her.