the lord and the alleycat [COMPLETED]

Chapter Two

Death did not come, if you haven't figured it out yet. I awoke warm for the first time in awhile. I kept my eyes closed for fear it was just a dream, but sleepiness would not overtake me again. I sighed, opening one eye and then the other. I lay in a living room, or what appeared to be one, since I had never laid eyes on one until this moment. I was lying on a couch, a blanket covering my still-damp body. I sat up, my frail elbow popping with the pressure, even with how little the pressure was. I let the blanket slide off my body, afraid to touch anything in the beautiful and ornate home, with fear of breaking or soiling something. I looked for the closest door, but there was not one in my sight.

A woman, the maid I assumed, walked around the corner and saw my sitting figure and ran over, gathering the blanket, arranging it around my shoulders, and directing my bony hands to the edges to hold on to it so it wouldn't fall off again. She smiled lightly at me and gestured to a tray sitting on the table in front of me. I hadn't noticed originally, but now I saw it held a teapot, and a delicate teacup with flowers around the rim. The maid poured me a cup of tea, and held the cup out to me. I shook my head, but her hand remained stretched out. I let go of the blanket, which luckily stayed in the position across my shoulders, and grasped the cup with both hands, concentrating on not dropping it. The maid watched me as I sipped it, the tea warming my insides as much as the blanket had warmed my outsides. I clenched the cup slightly tighter, knowing my fingers were quivering with anxiousness. I handed the cup back to the maid, and she took it, placing it on the tray, then stood up and left the room, tray and all its contents in hand.

I grasp the blanket again, this time eyeing my surroundings a little more at ease. I looked down at my clothes and noticed for the first time how dirty they were. I stood up quickly, and looked down at the couch in dismay, for it was now dirtied by my dirty body. The maid came back into the room and took my arm, lightly, leading me out of the living room, through the dining room to stairs near the front door. She walked in front of me up the stairs, gesturing for me to follow. I timidly grasped the banister and followed her up the stairs and down a short hallway to a bathroom. The room had a free-standing tub in the middle, a sink and counter space off to the left, and a toilet to the right. The maid began to fill the bathtub up with water, periodically placing the edge of her pinky-finger daintily into the steaming water. She added some soap when the tub was halfway full with water. Bubbles began to form on top of the water, growing in size with every drop added.

When it was sufficiently full, the maid gestured to the bath, and stepped out of the room, and spoke to me the first time, "Leave your clothes outside the door, they will be washed and dried. A robe is hung next to the sink, you may use that." And with that I heard the pitter-patter of feet quietly slip away. I looked at the mirror hung above the sink and sighed. I hadn't seen myself, and I felt quite embarrassed with my appearance. My hair hung dirty, brown and wet-curls knotted up all over my head. My clothes hung off my body like a skeleton trying to play dress-up. The clothes themselves were worn and tattered; many holes had tried to be patched up with bits of cloth I found in random places. My face was smudged with dirt, along with the rest of my dirty appearance. I slowly peeled off the clothes, trying to not make a dirt mess on the floor, in which I ended up failing miserably, causing a thin layer of dust all around where I was standing. I gathered my clothes into a little ball and tip-toed over to the door, pulling it open ever so slightly to shove my bundle through without letting anyone see me.

"Oh hello," a male voice said to me, and I felt my face immediately redden for I was standing in front of a man, even though behind a door, completely exposed.

"Hello," I manage to squeak out. I was standing stooped over, so I needed to crane my eyes up to see the man I was speaking to, and I still didn't get a clear vision of him, much alike the first time we met.

"Are those your clothes?" He asked politely and I nod. He holds out his hands and I feel a sense of déjà vu.

"I was supposed to-"

He cuts me off, "Yes, leave your clothes outside the door, I'll make sure they're taken where they need to go." I think he smiled and then began to walk away, so I had no choice but to close the door and retreat to the warmth of the bath.

I slid in one leg at a time, finding next to the bathtub a scrubber, more soap, and a comb. So I started on my hair, working out all the tangles, calmly and thoroughly, knowing I might not get another chance like this in a very long time, and luckily, the water remained warm the entire time I was in the bath. I scrubbed my skin until it turned red, and sat in the tub with my eyes closed for many minutes, just taking in the warmth.

Once I felt as though I had pruned enough, I got out of the bath, wrapping a towel around my body and got the fluffiest robe I had ever seen off the hook next to the sink. I slid my arms into the sleeves, and tied the tie around my body. I sat in a chair next to the sink, pondering if anyone would come back and find me, or if I'd have to go out and find them. I tapped my heels on the tile floor, making a pattering sound echo in the large bathroom. I heard a brisk knock on the door, and the maid peer her head in.

"Miss? Are you finished?"

I stood up in the robe and walked towards her, nodding. She gestured me to follow her again, and I hoped I wouldn't run into that man again, and I didn't. I followed her down a hallway, and turned down another. Finally we came to a door at the end of the hallway, which the maid opened.

"Here you go, Miss. Your room."

"My room?" I spoke for the first time, bewildered. She nodded and gently prodded me towards the bed.

"Sleep, you need it," she handed me some sleepwear, which was not mine, and she left the room, softly closing the door behind her. I stripped the robe and pulled on the worn shorts and shirt, glad my own underwear was already washed and given back to me. The bed was turned down, so I crawled underneath the thick covers, squirming to find a comfortable position, and sighing when I found it. My body ached with pain, but the softness of the mattress and pillows cradled me to sleep.

"I don't want this to go away. Please be here when I wake up," I wished silently. "Please."