Unexpected Journey

Chapter 14: The Woman in the Dark Room

     Hello my kittens. I am back on my regular updating schedule and better than ever, writing wise. The four chapters I posted last time were the four that I would have posted during my hiatus, so I hope that made up for the time I didn't update. I was planning on posting this last weekend, but due to the reasons that I addressed in the A/N, I wasn't able to. You all are so nice to me and I can't thank you enough. Well onto the chapter!

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"Wendy says not to break the wall to much, but I don't understand what's wrong with talking to the readers."

-Kitty Ryuzaki

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     The noises at night had become more often and Kougyoku and Hakuei would often be found talking to thin air in the middle of the night. Or so everybody else thought. In actuality the phantom maid, as they called her, would show up in the middle of the night when they called for her but tonight seemed to be different. Guttural growls of what seemed to be a caged animal rang out through a secluded part of the palace along with the click of shoes against marble tiles. A door at the end of the hallway creaked open and a small gasp escaped someone's mouth. "Oh it's a visitor!" A feminine voice ran out. "Hello miss." Replied the person, who turned out to be a girl with red hair and green eyes, wearing a maid uniform. "Do you want to play? It's been so long since someone else other than Kouha has played with me and I'm starting to get dreadfully bored of the games he picks." Whined the feminine voice. "How about we play hide and seek. I like hide and seek. You go and count and I'll hide!" Said the voice. "Okay," was the maid's reply as she shut her eyes and started counting.

     Shuffling was heard throughout the room as the person scrambled to get to a hiding place. "...9...10... ready or not! Here I come!" Shouted the maid. She looked around the room, scanning for any places that the mysterious person could be hiding in. The sound of giggling coming from a pile of blankets caught her attention. "Oh no. I can't seem to find her. It seems that she's to good of a hider! I give up!" Said the maid in mock defeat. The pile of blankets let out another loud giggle and the a head of messy reddish pink hair popped out of it. The woman that had exploded out of the covers had a major case of bed head and was only dressed in a giant dress shirt. "I won!I won!" Said the woman in the same childish voice the maid had heard before. "It seems that you have won, miss." Said the maid. The woman jumped up and down in victory, her tangled hot pink hair bobbing up and down, until she suddenly stopped. 

     "So Rosie, what are we going to play now?" Asked the childish woman. "Rosie?" The maid said in confusion. "Yeah, Rosie. Just like your hair. It is fine if I call you that, right?" Said the woman, to the maid. " You can call me Rosie if you want, but what should I call you?" Asked the maid, now known as Rosie. "You can call me mom!" Said the woman. "Well then mom, how about you get ready for bed while I clean up the room and then we can decide what to play before bedtime." Said Rosie, picking up a stray shirt off the floor. "Okie doki, Rosie!" Said Mom before running to the bathroom to take a bath. The sound of someone getting in the bath could be heard throughout the room as Rosie tidied up the room and lit a lamp to let her see. What Rosie saw practically gave her a heart attack. Clothes were littered around the room creating mountains and a pile of broken glass lay stacked in one of the corners of the room. There were stains from a mysterious substance of the floor, the walls, and even some on the ceiling. Rosie's eyes rolled to the back of her eyes and she fainted, collapsing onto the floor from where she had stood in shock.

Two Hours Later

     Rosie started to wake up from her place on the floor, her vision blurry when she opened her eyes for the first time. The sound of splashing in the bathroom reminded her that her mother was taking a bath in the bathroom. How much time had pasted while she was knocked out, was unknown to her. She got up, wiping something of her maid uniform. She honestly did not want to know what may have gotten onto her uniform in the time she was asleep. Grimacing before picking up a pair of discarded- Oh god. She did not want it to be what she thought it was... After thirty minutes of speed cleaning, almost barfing, and scrubbing the stains of... well... everywhere... The room was spotless. There were even magic powered lights and the bed was made. The splashing from the bathroom continued and that was when Rosie realized that she hadn't gotten her mother out of the bath tub. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit." Was all that was heard as Rosie rushed into the bathroom.

      "Is it time to get out?" Asked mom when she saw Rosie run into the room in a frenzy. "Yes it is mom." Was Rosie's reply as she grabbed a towel and handed it to her. Mom got dried and got dressed in a sleep kimono that Rosie had found in mom's closet. After mom was dry and dressed, Rosie sat on the bed combing mom's hair, until mom flipped their roles and started combing Rosie's hair. Rosie flinched at the foreign contact and shank away from the brush that was going through her hair. "What's the matter? I'm just combing your hair. That's not something to be afraid of." Said mom, a puzzled expression on her face. "I never experienced the things that most kids do with their mother. I missed out on having a normal childhood..." Said Rosie, trailing off at the end as if embarrassed. "Well I'm your mom now, so you can catch up on the stuff you missed out on as a child." Said mom, continuing to comb Rosie's hair, even though she still seemed uncomfortable. After awhile mom eventually began to fall asleep. Quickly tucking her in and walking out the door, Rosie was about to leave when mom said something unexpected in her sleepy haze. "Please come and visit me tomorrow... It gets lonely without anyone to talk to..." Said mom, her eyes barely focused on Rosie's figure in the doorway. "Only if you make sure this room stays clean and you make sure to look presentable from now on." Replied Rosie before turning off the lights and closing the door behind her.

    Sorry if this chapter is filled with grammatical mistakes. I wrote this at one in the morning after chugging a two liter bottle of Pepsi and five more cans of caffeinated soda, along with eating a ton of sugar. Aren't sleepovers wonderful!(Note the sarcasm.) Well, see you at the next chapter my dear kittens. Neko-chan out!