worthy.

five.

CHAPTER      V.
precious oddities.

                    HOURS TICKED BY, days had gone by, it felt as though weeks had flown like a flock of migrating birds in the spring. Everything seemed stagnant, stillborn even. It had only been a few days since your last 'chat' with the noble himself. But without a clear indication of time, your sense of time had changed drastically.

Throughout the days, the medic has continued the daily check-ups. From what he had told you, your stitches could be out by the next week. It was a relief to say the least. But, you still remembered nothing but your name and a few random visions.

You were eventually able to get out of bed once your stitches was less delicate and would take a large amount of force to split the skin, and since your medication dosage dimmed. Although you were forbidden from leaving the room to avoid misunderstandings of the prince having a 'secret mistress' from the gossiping workers, you were advised to explore around the large scaled room.

"You know, even the colour of something could trigger a memory of sorts."

And you had been bedridden for quite a while so you were rather eager to even walk around the room. Currently, you simply looked out the large window watching the light rain drops race down the glass pane. You dragged your finger down the cold surface, following the flow of the droplet.

You were shocked by the sudden knock on the doors before a young maid stepped into room with a stack of clothes and a tray with a jug of water. She placed the clothes on the arm of the lounge chair before placing the jug on your bedside table, replacing the empty one as she turned to you with a small smile.

"Is there anything you would like the ask, miss?" You paused looking away for a moment.

"What is your name?" You asked. You assumed she was the only maid assigned to help you since it would be suspicious for too many maids to know about you. She tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"You may call me Aki, Miss. Is there anything else I can do for you?" She says as she steps in front of the door frame.

"C-could I get a new towel please?" You asked shyly, feeling like an inconvenience even though it was her job. She smiled lightly, nodding and leaving the room. You sighed, wishing to step out the stuffy room yourself. You leaned your head against the window before eventually getting bored of the raindrop races.

You stepped towards the dusty bookshelf, grazing your fingertips against the spines leaving a small trail through the dust. Despite it being unused, it was rather organised. The shelf consisted of four shelves, the top two rows consisted of four complete collections of book series. The third row of several books from the same author, arranged alphabetically. The forth, and final row, seemed to be mid arrangement the first half being arranged by alphabet as the second half was cluttered.

As you read over all the titles, to hopefully find a decent book to read. You saw an empty spine with a small emblem at the bottom. A small flower of sorts carved into the spine. It had a hard emerald green cover, no title or author. Just random splotches of colour, along with a small lock on the side.

Hm, maybe I could ask Aki about this? You placed the book onto the table by the lounge chair as you grabbed your clothes and headed into the shower.

As you stepped into the warm shower, you didn't hear the sound of your main door opening. So it was slightly shocking to see Aki in your room, kneeling in front of the chair with the book in hand. Her back facing you, and the towel you asked for by her side nicely folded.

"Ah, Aki I was meaning to ask you about that—" Before you could ask her anything, she turned to you with fear clear in her eyes. As she quickly shoved it back into its place on the shelf delicately as though it never moved.

"Please pretend you never saw that, miss." She says with a complete blank face. As though she saw death himself within the cover of that simple book. The look left as soon as it came, her small smile returning to her features as she walks towards the wardrobe by the bathroom.

"I brought you more towels, I'll place them in the wardrobe for you whenever you need them." She opens the doors as she moved a few things around the wardrobe before placing them down. Wait what is in that box?

She quickly left the room soon after. You leaned your ear against the door, hearing her footsteps fade slowly. Before you opened up the wardrobe once again. As Aki rummaged through the old gowns, she had moved around a small box with the same emblem as the book. You grabbed the small box and placed it in your lap. You were surprised to see there was no dust a top the box, like it hadn't been in the space for long.

What are you hiding? The box seemed to be a jewellery box of sorts. A flat square box with the familiar emblem carved into the right corner of the box. You took a deep breath.

What am I nervous about? It's not like there's a human heart in this box right?

. . .

Right? Paranoia set in at the thought of something gruesome sitting in the rather unsuspecting box. You let out the long breath you didn't know you were holding in.

You flipped the latch holding the box closed before slowly opening the box. Woah...

Inside the box, instead of a gruesome bloody heart there was beautiful diamond necklace. You unconsciously reached out for it before pulling your slightly scraped palms away from the rather expensive item of jewellery. It seemed wrong to touch such a prescient piece.

You gently held the jewels in your hands, despite the feeling. The slight sunlight through the rain clouds shimmered through the gems, light dancing around the room like fairies. You tapped the side of the stone as it began to spin lightly, making the lights move around the room. A smile upon your face at the rather magical moment.

But, all moments come to an end. As the rain clouds now shielded the light as the room now became as dull as before. Now, rather gloom with the slight rain still hitting against the glass. The rain wasn't the only thing dimming the mood,

"What are you holding?"

1119 word count.
edited: 14 APRIL 2021