°° The shadows Of Skotia°°

Chapter three

----
I woke up abruptly to a sudden ruckus from downstairs. Clumsily and nearly falling down the stairs I rushed down to check what had happened.

“What happened?“ I asked. Madeline looked ny way, dressed in a short beige skirt and matching blazers. Her brunette hair had been tied into a tight bun and she wore black high stilettoes.

“ Good morning Catherine, Sorry you had to wake up like this “

I looked around, everything seemed to be the same way it was last night.
“What happened?“ I asked again, my curiosity bubbling.

“ Oh don't worry about it, it's all sorted.“ She said Making a short stride to the kitchen where she brought out a tray of bread, jam and a tea set which she set on the table at the corner.

She'd cleared all the books and stuff on it and there was a beautiful tablecloth on it.
“ sit and eat I'll go get you something to wear.“ She poured me a cup of puffy white liquid and disappeared upstairs, humming to herself.

Unsatisfied and hungry with curiosity, I peeped in the kitchen, a closet under the stairs. The windows were shut tight, making it difficult to peep through. It also made the living room dimmly lit and difficult to see properly.

I plopped on the chair and scooched closer to the table, like the golden brown liquid from yesterday, this one tasted heavenly yet completely different.
It was more sour and creamy reminding me of yogurt but lighter.
I was starting to suspect Madeline just made random concoctions with regular food.

I ate quickly as I didn't realize how hungry I actually was.
Madeline came down, checking her pocket watch.
“I've gotten everything ready, go freshen up we need to be off soon.“
Something was different about her today.
She was more tight lipped and hadn't smiled not once, her emerald eyes were cloudy and her demeanor was closed.
I wanted to ask if everything was alright but then I had a thought.

What if this was a trap, what if I'd just been lured to something bad, had I trusted Madeline too easily.
But I discarded these thoughts as soon as they came.
If she wanted to harm me, she already would've.

I nodded and went up to take a bath after clearing my dishes.
She really had left everything I needed including a new toothbrush and underwear. The water was perfectly warm, the soap perfectly perfumed and the towel perfectly soft.

I got changed into the clothes she'd left on my bed. A pink turtleneck with thin white strips, denim overalls and white converse shoes.

They fit perfectly even if they were a complete deflect from my usual mute colors loose clothings. My hair was still damp but I left it regardless, it was short and would dry quick, I thought.
Rushing down, I could hear the familiar insistent chiming of her pocket watch.
“Just in time” she said between heavy breaths.

I realized at that moment I had no idea where we were going or what we where going to do.
“Where are we going?“
“ We need to be at the arcana in an hour and thirty minutes.“ She picked a black hat to match and locked the door. We made our way down the Stony pathway.
Outside, the air smelled fresher like the valley had washed off all grim it'd been accumulating although, it was still rather cold and the sun barely shone despite clear skies.

“The arcana? Where's that?“
I asked trying to keep up with her long strides.

“It's the capital city of skotia, not too far just about thirty minutes bus ride that's why we need to make sure to get there before the next bus leaves.“
We were moving up hill, away from the cottages. I could vaguely see the  silhouette of a city or what I thought was the city.

As if reading my mind she said.
“We're going to duskmoor, it's at the outskirts of the arcana but we need to make a few stops before we get there.“
I let it sink in, she'd only managed to answer one of my questions but I held the rest as we got to the bus station.
She bought two tickets with a few silver coins and we took our seats at the rear end of the bus.