Period of Pretties, Petticoats and Power

Five - It Is Always Me, Is It Not?

Five — It Is Always Me, Is It Not?

“Good God, your patience is quite persistent.” Said an unfamiliar female voice. “You need to be quiet, child.” Was she talking to me?

“I am no longer a child.” Said a familiar male voice. “You must stop that, Lois.”

“Hush, I am only teasing. Now run, along, I must heal your little one.”
“She is not mine.”

The female laughed and chirped, “Yet!”

Flashes filled my mind. I could hear the familiar laughter of Vivienne and Isabelle, while Charlotte seemed to be yelling. The smell of roses and dew filled my nose, and my hearing sharpened. My head was light and my body seemed nervous. Charlotte was in front of my face, looking concerned.

“Why are you sad, Aunt Alys? It is your wedding day!”

Suddenly, I felt something sharp rip through my dream, like a knife through cotton and I was gasping and clawing for air. My head was throbbing and my ears were ringing. Sweat covered my body in a thin layer, causing my nightgown to stick to me. I blinked, trying to gather my vision together and it did.

I could only make out shapes from the moonlight spilling through the large window and the little candle beside my bed which was flickering. I looked down, I was in unfamiliar sheets. They were warm and white, and seemed to belong to a hospital. I was in a hospital bed—what? In horror, I looked up and around.

I was in an infirmary.

My breath caught. 

The other beds were all empty and neatly made, with moonlight spilling over their pearl white sheets. The walls were tall, and hanging off the roof was a strange chandelier, with paintings of little naked babies floating around, with angel wings. 

I was not in my house.

Then, my memories of yesterday hit me and coming to life, blinking and scrabbling my brain like it held all the answers I needed. I remember Sebastian, with his knife and want to know where Abraham Warren was and the wound. Oh my, the wound? I looked down, and rubbed the skin where it had been. I felt a bandage there, but no pain. I was also in a night gown, how I got in there was beyond me.

The room was eerily quiet. After living with three girls for a few months, quietness was strange and eerie. It had always been quiet when I lived with my mother, since I did not make much noise and neither did she. 

“Miss Marquis?”

I turned at the voice, gasping and moving away. It was a women. She looked older than me, in her late fifties, with thick grey hair that was twirled at the nape of her neck and large ice-blue eyes that gleamed in the darkness. Her face was beautiful, and I admired any women who looked beautiful with wrinkles and held herself like she was the Queen of the world. 

“I am Mrs. Lois Conway. But, you can just call me Lois.” She said. “Are you feeling better? You ought to get back to sleep.”

“Where am I?” I asked.

Lois smiled. “You are at the Principle mansion, dear.”

Principle…”Pardon?”

“Principle Mansion. Brought him by Master Principle, himself!” 

I blinked slowly. “He kidnapped me?”
“No, no, dear. You were bleeding out when he brought you here. Nearly had a heart attack, meself. You gave us both a fright.”
“How?” I asked. “Wait, can I speak to him?”
Lois’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“Because he has brought me to his home, where I do not wish to be.” I said stiffly. “Is there another reason I should be speaking to him?”