The Relentless Past

Ch. Two

Ch. Two

It had been an hour  since Hana went out of the room, Maddie helped Audrey organize her room. She had a window to look out from, and could see the lawn out front.

" it's not that bad I assume. Atleast I can get fresh air." Audrey said, she munched an energy bar, and sat down on the edge of her bed.

" Okay, how long have you been  feeding on those energy bars?" Maddie asked, stealing one from Audrey's cartons.

" A week" she said, then noticing the frown on her best friend's face added, " but I have been eating meals three times a day as well."

" which in your dictionary says burnt food cooked by your dad." Maddie looked out the window, a few people were sitting on the benches near the lawn.

" but it's edible"

"No it's not. I've eaten it. "

"You've eaten it once."

" which was enough to prove how uncooked they were. Trust me, my family can provide both you and your father meals three times a day. Maybe more. I'm not exaggerating here, I just want you guys to atleast be able to eat. " Maddie grimaced. It was clear they've had this conversation before, and would be having it in the future.

" that's not possible you know that. You've heard Hana. Servants can't eat with Nobles" Audrey said. She just needed to escape from this conversation, of course it didn't feel nice to call your own self a servant.

" oh to hell with that. They are just petty classifications. Nevermind, we're going nowhere with this conversation. Anyways, I've heard there's a really huge library here. Shall we?" Maddie smiled, the previous conversation already out of her mind.

" sure!" Audrey brightened up for the first time, since the day had begun. As they walked out the door, few kids were still moving furnitures. They were less in number in comparison to the morning rush. It was a girl's dorm, all shrill and excited gossips. Four three-storyed buildings comprised the dorms. They were from all over the world,  so it made sense if neither of them owned a house here. There were a few that did.

There was a lawn in front of the dorm, freshly mowed. Just after the lawn, another few buildings comprised of the boys dorm, then the buildings of the classes. It all seemed too castle-like, thats what Maddie described it as while Audrey said it looked like the devil's dungeon.

They arrived at the library, not too far away. A two-floored structure.

" it looks pretty old but fairy like, doesn't it?" Audrey said.

" It certainly does." Maddie spoke.

When they went inside, it seemed it wasn't a two floored building but a one floored. The book shelves went so high it made it seem like a two-floored epitome. There were sections upon sections, alphabetically arranged, classified as " fantasy" "adventure" "reference" "classic".

It all seemed so refined, and organized. The girls were impressed.

" it certainly is maintained every damn day" Maddie exclaimed,  a bit too Loud for a library.

A woman's head popped up from behind a shelf and hushed her, as soon as she hushed her, she peeked out again and a smile graced her features.

" ah! I see you're new here! Welcome!" her voice gave off a low baritone, and it seemed broken but her gesture was friendly.

Audrey nodded.

" I would have allowed you guys to explore! This library is throughly maintained by me!" As she said so, her nose stayed high in the air in a proud manner, " but it's too early. The library will open at 11." She spoke.

" ah that's fine. It's a really majestic one though!" Maddie complimented. The lady smiled even wider.

" Do you own all kinds of books?" Audrey asked.

" we do! We even have the new book published by the German author yesterday!" She said, her phone gave off an alarm right then. She excused herself and walked away.

On the far end of the library, there was a sitting area, preferably for students who might like reading or studying there. The walls had a poster that said, " silence zone "

" if the library doesn't open till 11 am. Who's sitting there? Is it a professor?" Maddie inquired.

Audrey followed her line of sight to see a hunched figure at the other side of the library. It was a boy for sure, covered in oversized sweater and tight jeans and Vans. His hair was a bit short from behind and a little long at the front. His side profile was visible and he seemed to be engrossed in it. Or wait... he seemed to be unfocused. It was hard to tell. But it was evident that he wasn't a professor of any sort.

" nevermind that. The lady in charge will take care  of him. She must have noticed." Audrey ushered Maddie out, who still seemed a bit uncertain.

They walked along the great lawn, the hallways, the auditorium and the classrooms. Their classes wouldn't start from tomorrow onwards and from the exploration they did, they could only conclude that this college was goddamn huge.

They were sitting on the steps of one of the stairs and currently eating their second round of burgers.

" I haven't really noticed any others like us." Audrey said. One side of her sandwich almost fell off.

" you don't bite a sandwich from the middle. And, I haven't as well, their scents must be hidden or stuff" Maddie said.

" elaborate."

" you can hide the scents with perfume you know that. But a specific perfume."

"Mmhm"

Maddie continued, " but in your case it's like, you haven't fed off blood since a week . So you don't really have a smell  at the moment. "

" I do know that. Why aren't there others tho?" Audrey asked.

" My dad said the school authority does give off a perfume for the students to hide their smell and to prevent bloodthirst. It's not for the freshmen tho. So likely the seniors are hiding their smell. It would be really bad if you're the only freshman servant out here." Maddie pushed her glasses up her nose, and her face showed genuine concern.

" I shouldn't have asked. I'm worried right now." Audrey finished off her sandwich and wiped her hands on her jeans. The jeans she hadn't washed since a week, and had gotten them out of laundry just yesterday.

" I bet you are." It was the unmistakable voice of Hana.

Audrey was starting to get annoyed by Hana. It didn't help that she was a servant and couldn't do much more against someone higher than her rank.

She turned around to find Hana on the top of the staircase, her boots making a clacking noise on the railing. She gave off an evil aura, nobody really liked that.

" Madison just explained the reason I told you to get out of here" Hana said. Maddie and Audrey got off from the stair they were sitting on.

" It's Maddie"

"Whatever."