Rose, Wilted: Book 1

Chapter 8 - The Mirror and the Main Course

Morning sunlight streamed into my blue eyes and I blearily blinked them open with a long yawn. The window made beautiful patterns across the bed sheets, but I didn't remember the window in my room being so high. Why was the bed so big? It was huge and comfortable and soft. I buried myself deeper in it and stretched. My hand brushed a soft fabric and I shifted my head to look at it. It was a gold colored piece of silk hanging from somewhere... I looked up. Why was there a canopy? Where did Father get that from?

I sat up.

"Father?" I asked sleepily. I'm sorry, I must have oversle-"

Oh.

I fell onto my back and landed on the pillow with a puff of air escaping from my landing pad. I smacked another pillow over my face and gave a groan that was muffled by the feathers and silk.

It seemed ridiculous that yesterday my greatest fear was Avoln and not having enough money to pay for bread. Becoming the captive of a monster had snapped things into a sharp perspective. I still didn't know what had happened to Father. Had the Beast kept its promise? Was Father home? Or was he wandering alone and lost in the woods?

I forced myself to get up and walk over to the window. The sun told me it was just past noon.

I was starving. Last night I'd been exhausted to my limits in every way possible. My body had needed to rest and had resulted in a shutdown that had lasted over half the day. I'd never eaten dinner before going after Father and Jean, and I'd missed breakfast. Assuming I was going to be fed. Most likely it wasn't the sun that had woken me, but ravenous hunger.

I caught a whiff of fresh bread and my stomach groaned. I took in a deep breath through my nose and found the aroma thick in the air. My mouth watered of its own accord and I swung my head around to find where the smell was coming from. Just next to the bed on a side table of polished rosewood was a tray of food. There were several steaming rolls and as I grew closer I saw that there were also several pieces of precut fresh fruit and ham.

I reached out a greedy hand but then yanked it back as though I had touched hot metal. What if this was some kind of test? Or what if it was poisoned?
But even I had to admit that neither of those made much sense. Why would the Beast test me? And if it'd had so many chances to kill me before, why would it use poison against me now? My stomach gave a wholehearted lurch of agreement and I quickly gave in to my hunger.

The rolls were round and sweet, with a thin crust glazed with honey butter and a fluffy, savory inside. All three were quickly gone, leaving me wishing for more. The fruit was equally delicious. I believe they were nectarines, probably grown in some sort of greenhouse on the grounds, and they were ripe and juicy, though a little messy. I licked the last dribbles of sweet juice off my fingers and thought there may have been a sprinkling of sugar over the fruit. I didn't wait long enough to think about it though before devouring the greasy ham slices. The meat was tender, and like everything else on the plate, savory and delicious. By the time I was finished I found that I was quite full, despite the small amount of food. I wiped my fingers off against a cloth napkin I found on the tray and was surprised to see a slip of paper flutter out. I finished cleaning my fingers and plucked the note off the floor. It read:

Welcome, new mistress. It is our pleasure to serve you. We are at your beck and call, so should you need anything, just ring (there is a bell pull next to the bed). Please feel free to explore your new home.

The script was too tidy for the Beast to have written the note. Clearly it was written by the servants. One must have delivered the food while I was sleeping. But new mistress? Your new home? Even the fact that there were servants astounded me. The castle seemed totally desolate. Shouldn't they have fled with everyone else when the Beast attacked the castle? I shook my head.