ONE POINT FIVE (1.5 in the Amnesia Archives)

Chapter 13

Prin's POV

"It's crooked," I said with a small sigh as I stepped back from the wall. We were pinning up the art which we had made on the wall in our living space. I felt like it was a very sweet gesture for Sarphi to set it all up, and I wanted to remember it every time I came into the room. However, I was really bad at knowing whether things were straight on the wall. "This is infuriating." I set the hammer down, since I'd been using it to put nails into the wall, tarnishing the resell value of the building, I'm sure. I didn't even know if that was a thing here, or if people just saw open houses here and decide to move in.

"It doesn't have to be totally straight," Sarphi told me as she prepared our breakfast. We had decided to take turns with that chore for now, and I didn't trust her with a hammer and nails just yet. I had no doubts in her skills, my doubts lay with the idea that she would get frustrated and end up throwing it in a random direction if she got frustrated.

"But it doesn't look right." I shook my head and sighed, reaching down to stroke Onyx's fur thoughtfully. My thoughts immediately began to wonder once more about that man across the road and what he meant. I struggled to sleep last night because I was trying to figure out the message behind his words. Sarphi had noticed, I was sure, but she didn't say anything. She seemed to be feeling better and better the more that we talked and ate and painted last night. I was happy that I was able to get her thoughts away from her current self-conscious views. I honestly wanted to give her a shake and a big hug, telling her that Queenie was talking absolute nonsense, but that wouldn't work.

I was also slightly concerned about the fact I knew she was used to it. She probably faced whispers and pointed fingers anywhere she went. I worried why she was paying attention to them now.

"It gives them character." Sarphi denied as she shook her head. "I think that they look wonderful next to each other." She had a very good point, and I hadn't disagreed with her on that part anyway.

We didn't tell each other what we were painting when it came to getting started. I knew immediately what I wanted to paint. I painted a wonderful landscape, adding the smallest of details here and there, feeling like I could truly never finish it. I wasn't the best at painting, but I was well-practised. I wasn't a natural, but I had done a lot of art whilst I was in my prison.

Sarphi was the complete opposite. She might've done a lot of art as a child, I didn't know, but she moved the paintbrush with incredible accuracy. It was like she was manifesting a painting out of thin air. I believed that the visage of a woman's silhouette surrounded by roses and buildings was exactly what she envisioned.

"It's a shame that you didn't let me put this in the bakery." She gave a disappointed sigh as she began plating up the food. "It would've looked really nice on those blank, boring walls."

I laughed bitterly and shook my head. "You're not getting anything that I make ever if you consider putting it where others can see." I may not like Sarphi's self-consciousness, but that was because it was her body. I would completely understand being self-conscious about something like art.

"Art is relative," She pointed out as she set the table. "Now come on, food's gonna get cold." She sat down herself and began eating, looking slightly proud.

I made my way over and sat opposite her. "Happy?" I asked with a small laugh. She'd been slightly obsessive over learning how to cook. I didn't know if it was because Aknon and Acer usually cooked, and she would help, or if she had a genuine interest and desire to be invested in a hobby.

"It's not bad," she replied with a happy nod of her head as she continued to eat her food. "I still wish that we could control where the fire goes."

I shook my head. "The fire goes in the fireplace, it's literally in the name." I began eating and nodded my head in approval. "Your eggs have really improved." They weren't burnt this time, which was very promising. "You might not be able to control the fire, but you can control where the pan goes and where the food is."