Dark Halls, Stone Walls

Chapter Seven

I took soft, slow steps as I crept down the same stone hallway as before. Nothing out of the ordinary so far, but that could easily change anytime.

I kept my back straight and my expression stern. If nothing else, I could always control how I react to things. Showing fear felt like it wouldn't suit me outside of my room anymore, as someone would eventually find me, and the last thing I needed was someone to know that I was terrified. Scared of the dark. Being alone. Of the invisible people. Trapped. My heartbeat has raced in terrible ways ever since I woke up, to the point it almost felt natural for my chest to hurt. Nothing could be happening, and yet it feels like I never have enough time to think, even though that's all I do as of late.

It couldn't have been like this, right? I rubbed my arms. Surely not. I had to have felt safe at some point. I belonged to a house at some point, did they love me and keep me safe? I looked around the building. I guess not. Still, they couldn't have known it would turn out like this, right?

I rounded the corner.

"My lady!" Laura's voice piped up. "What are you doing out? It's so early in the morning!"

I flinched. "Oh, Laura!" I gathered myself. "Goodness, I could hardly hear you! Ah..." I hesitated. "Can we keep this between you and me? I don't want a certain person to find out that I'm out and about—"

The smell of lavender with a touch of vanilla tickled my nose. My racing heart grew quieter.

I could smack myself in the head. "Laura, is your master behind me?"

"I have a name, you know." That deep, rich voice came from beside me. "Though I suppose you wouldn't know it, would you?"

I turned to face him. "Glad to see you aren't the forgetful one here." Annoyance trickled into my voice. "I don't suppose you could tell me your name, or at least explain why you forbade Laura from telling me anything?"

"Afraid not. Speaking of..."

A pause.

"Please excuse us..." Laura whispered before her steps rushed away.

"Anyways, I'm afraid I cannot say."

I listened for her foot steps, not wishing to be alone with him if possible. However, they were long gone by the time he finished his sentence. "Lovely. You must not be the master of the castle, then."

Tension spiked in the air. "What?"

I blinked. "If you can't tell me anything, then that must mean someone else told you not to." I frowned. Something about this seemed familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. "Which means that you aren't the master of this castle, though you are Laura and Noreen's master."

All was quiet. Unusually quiet, like I had a thousand eyes staring at me from all directions, yet no one said anything.

"What's the point of what you're saying?" He sounded much closer and leveled, like he was trying to not laugh at me. "Are you challenging me?"

I could feel the heat in my eyes stare down the invisible man. "If that is your idea of a challenge, then I can't imagine what it'd be like if someone actually protested your authority."

I leaned in a little bit with a small smirk on my face. The smell of vanilla was almost overpowering, but I resisted the urge to let it take me over and lose track of my thoughts. "I wonder how you'd react, Mr. William."

A silence hung in the air.

I blinked. "Oh," God, "what, uh," what "did I, uh, am I," am I saying?