To Everything There Is A Season

~ A Report~

Luke watched Sang head up the stairs, before walking over to join a somewhat dazed Gabriel.

"Did you see her work? Her hair? How can she not see how amazing she is?" Gabriel asked his best friend.

"No idea. It makes me mad to hear how little her family valued her. According to them her sister was perfect. Having seen the files on both girls we know the truth, Sang was the one considered the better marriage choice not Marie yet that wasn't what she heard at home. She told me straight out that her sister was perfect." Luke said, sitting on the couch while Gabriel moved to sit in the chair Sang had occupied.

The two men sat for a moment before Gabriel leaned over and rummaged through Sang's yarn bucket. Pulling the basket into his lap he looked at each skein.

"Did you know she dyed each of these herself? I wonder what else she makes. I know she sews her own clothes, but does she do the whole process? Think she would teach me?" Gabriel wondered aloud.

"Probably, just ask her. Want to go explore? We still have an hour before lights out." Luke got up and stretched.

"Yeah, let's explore this incredibly impersonal house"

The two men left the room without another word. The men that remained in the sitting room seemed to be occupied with their own thoughts. Gabriel and Luke found the hallway that ran between the stairwell and the kitchen.

"This house is crazy. Why is the hall on this side and not the other side of the stairs?" Gabriel asked perplexed. The house twisted and turned, making no logical sense that Gabriel could see.

"I think," said Luke, "this wall used to be the outside wall, at some point the kitchen was added as well as this hallway and any rooms down here."

The two continued a few paces more before coming to a door. Upon opening it they found a tiny powder room. A few more paces brought them to another door. This one led into a very modern office.

"Holy shit. The tech in here is top of the line or was before the flare. It might still work if it was off during it. The house is off grid so maybe. Vic can look at it tomorrow. I think we found the information Mr. B was looking to send back to the Academy elders." Gabriel spoke in awe. Besides the computer set up on the desk, the office had multiple bookshelves filled with ledgers, journals and books on multiple subjects. It was also dusty in a way the rest of the house outside of this corridor of forgotten rooms was not.

"I bet the wanker never let Sang back here. There is a layer of dust on everything in here and the powder room had rust stains in the sink." Luke commented running his finger through the dust accumulated on top of a filing cabinet.

"Wonder what else is in here?" Gabriel muttered before reaching to pull a random book off the shelf behind the desk. There was a click and a section of the shelves swung out.

"Did we just find a hidden room?" Luke bounced in excitement.

"Looks that way but it is fucking dark in there. We can wait for morning to look at the rest of the shit in here. We also need to tell Mr. B what we found." Gabriel states backing out of the entryway. "I want to see the upstairs."

Luke and Gabriel retraced their steps back to the stairs. This time they went up.

"Okay, we know the layout of this floor mostly as it seems to be the six bedrooms and the two bathrooms but there is the tiny door that doesn't correspond to a room, we've been in. Let's try that one first." Luke suggested. Gabriel agreed and the two were off to see what was behind the door.

The little door was unlocked and led to a set of very steep narrow stairs. The stairwell was dimly lit from a skylight above. At the top of the stairs a room opened up that seemed to occupy the entire attic space of the house. This room unlike the rooms off the hallway downstairs was spotless. A floor loom sat ready to use. It gleamed under the fading sunlight. This was a well-loved machine. A lap loom sat ready on a shelf off to the side of the larger loom. A spinning wheel also sat ready for its mistress to use. A basket of wool batts waited to be spun into thread. The walls along the back of the room were covered in shelves. Gabriel walked to the end of the room to look at what was neatly stacked on each.

"Luke you have to see this. It looks like she makes her own lace, there are pieces of lace sitting here. I think these are quilting supplies, and this is embroidery supplies, multiple hoops and threads. I want to spend hours in here learning how to do all this stuff. I wonder what she uses to dye her threads and yarn." Gabriel looked at the needlecraft shelves with awe.

"Gabe, I think Mr. B would like this." Luke commented a few moments later. In his hands he held a very old and well-maintained violin. "Looking at this room you can tell she takes care of her things. All of her tools are clean and polished, supplies organized and put away, the room is spotless and while full of tools it doesn't feel crowded. I think if she had been in on the planning of the attacks, things would have been less chaotic. We should head down before the light goes altogether. It's getting late and four is really stupid early."

The two checked the room one last time before heading back downstairs. They met the others at the landing, after bidding each other a good night Luke and Gabriel headed into their assigned room and went to bed. 

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A little early for this part. Thank you all for the votes and comments. I love seeing what people have to say about what I am writing.