Golden Thread

Her Reply

I stared at the scroll in my hands, the paper feeling unusually heavy as I pulled it slowly open. Small characters were expertly written down, each stroke of the brush fiercely sharp. I brushed over them softly, and suddenly, it was as if I had an understanding of the words. I still couldn't read the characters, but I could piece together their meaning. Flabbergasted, I read through the letter's content which brought more questions than answers. 

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How dare you, whoever you are, come into the Imperial Chambers without authorization, furthermore going through this Imperial Prince's things? I do not care of the feelings you hold for me, this is a crime punishable by capital offense ! I'm not someone a person as lowly as you can hold in her heart ! 

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Firstly, had the person who had taken my letter come back during the night to put this one into the box ? If so, I really needed to contact that security agency. Secondly, who, in this era, still calls themselves Imperial Prince ? Mad at the way this so-called prince had lectured me, I grabbed a pen and paper and wrote down my reply in furious scribblings, the room filled with the sound of the tip of the pen scratching over the paper. 

Although I wasn't sure how exactly it worked, I supposed the box had something to do with it so when I was done writing, I put it promptly in the centre of the four wooden walls and closed the lid tightly before setting the box in the living room, in the dead centre of one of my newly acquired cameras' lens. Then, I ran up the stairs and locked my room's door, climbing into bed as my heart beat rapidly in my chest. 

I spent a tormenting night, tossing and turning every few minutes as my thoughts were plagued with the events of the day, the letter, everything. As such, it was no wonder I was already up and going at 7 AM the next morning. After a nice cup of coffee, I settled down in front of the box, warily eying it. "Huh..." I really did not want to open it but a little curious voice in my head was impossible to ignore. Sighing, I pulled the lid open, peeking inside with one eye. 

It was gone, once again !

I quickly stood up and went to the camera that was hidden from sight on a little shelf, taking out the SD card and putting it in my laptop. I could feel my heart bursting against my ribcage, my fingers shaking as I clicked on Play.

The video stretched over the whole night so I fast-forwarded it, my eyes ready to catch any movement on the screen. 

Nothing happened. 

No one broke into my house. No one even approached the box. The only person who even appeared in the entire video was just myself. I slumped back into a chair, unsure of what to do anymore. There wasn't any logical explanation that could possibly tell me what exactly had happened. Well, at least I knew the cameras worked just fine. 

Now that my emotions were more calmed, I went into my workshop to work on my design and didn't come out till much later that day, late afternoon as the sun started its descent on the horizon. I very much needed the distraction to push my mind out of more uncomfortable thoughts. 

The following few days passed by with nothing out of the ordinary. No random letters appearing into the old antique Chinese box. No hidden alcove in some dark corner of the house and obviously no self-proclaimed prince. The design of the dress was coming out smoothly but I felt like something was missing and I couldn't quite my finger on it yet. Most of my time was spent in my workshop, sketching and erasing and sketching once more. I spent so long on it, yet none of them really stood out or appealed to me, they all looked dull and tasteless. I wasn't sure if it was because I had lost my touch or because I was in dire need of new inspiration.

Just as I was settling into a nice little routine, another letter came.