Dark Halls, Stone Walls

Chapter Five

I was sitting at my desk when I took out a leather-bound book with blank yellow pages and started writing in it.

It had been a few days since anything new happened. I had received a few scraps of stale bread and pitchers of water that tasted like old coins. I hadn't received any other clothes aside from my original skirt, overcoat, and shoes, so everyday was exactly the same. Aside from this journal, I had nothing to entertain myself with. (I found it two days ago in one of the desk drawers, completely blank and unnamed.)

The room was kept clean, especially since Laura insisted that she dust at least while I bathe. I allowed it, after I apologized for my behavior on my first day here. (About a day ago.)

I paused from writing in my journal.

What I didn't mention, was that my sleepwear consisted of a white gown Laura snuck to me, otherwise, I would have been sleeping with nothing on. I kept the room mostly tidy as a thank you.

In case my notebook was confiscated for any reason, I didn't want her to get in trouble. It was the least I could do.

I haven't been able to figure out how to get my memories back, especially since Laura seems more tight-lipped than before. It's frustrating, to say the least!

I'm still hopeful that I might get my memories back, I'm just not sure how yet.

I stepped away from the paper. I didn't want to write too much on accident, and that aside, I needed to test something about my inability to read.

I could partially read Laura's name tag and yet could not understand any of the books in the library for some reason. The more I thought about it, the weirder it became. I could understand Laura's nametag, but it almost seemed like it was cheating, since I knew what it was going to read... then it hit me—I could only read what I previously understood to be there!

It was a strange theory but why else would I not be able to read her last name but still be able to read her first, was the question.

Then I thought a bit more and wondered how far this would go. For example, if I could read what I previously wrote, whether I remembered it or not.

It seemed small, but it was worth a shot in case I came across anything that I wrote before my memory loss. Not remembering what I wrote would be a bump in the road, but that's all it was—a bump.

I turned to the sounds of Laura at my bed, who was flattening the sheets and fluffing the pillows. "Laura, do you have time today?"

A pause. "A little bit, why do you ask?"

I stretched my bruised arms overhead. They weren't as bad as they were when I woke up from that night when the visitor came into, but they were still sore like my ankles. "Would it be too much to ask for a tour around the castle? Like the Dining Room, the Ball Room, and whatnot?"

She sighed. "I'm afraid I can't do that, my lady. I have to keep you here to a degree... my master, as you know, as ordered that you stay put here, so showing you around wouldn't be appropriate."

It was worth a try. "I understand, thank you anyway, Laura."

"Of course, my lady."

I took a look in the mirror. My hair was tied into a tight bun thanks to the tools available to me in the washroom.

Right, then. I started towards the door.

"My lady!" I heard tiny steps dash right between me and the door. "You can't leave!"

I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow. "You can't keep me in here. You know I'll leave as soon as you do, so..." I gestured around the room. "Why bother staying put?"