The Knight's Eyes

34: STRANGE LAUGHTER

He had never asked anyone what had happened to him in the room of illusions. If it caused him to loose his memory then maybe it was for a reason. The one thing he did know was how scared he was as his evil reflection laughed at him. He knew one thing though.

Nightingale had threatened a few times to throw him in another Room of Souls (she called it) in her dungeons. However, his senses would alert him she was lying just to scare him. Kaahiss had ceased talking to him, limiting his words to his chores. After the bucket incident with Nightingale, Casper purposely keeps his distance. Plus he had seen him hovering under Stein more than his usual companion Abebe. Abebe, on that matter, too tries to avoid him, giving him attitude because he had tried to kill her master. Curl was just Curl.

The Terran knight steadily climbed the short wooden ladder propped against the back wall of the grand dinning hall. Sweat beaded his forehead and his stomach churned by the height he had managed to climb without vomiting. He had done this before, climbing one of the two different size ladders Curl had plucked from somewhere in the castle. His nervousness was sensed by the raptor who evilly snickered a few times at his vulnerabilities.

Now he was alone. Trusted again to do one of many tasks, alone. To keep himself abased he'd hum and sing songs. They were the only things keeping him from loosing his mind and kept him hopeful to see Walta and his father again. They may think he was dead, but as long as he stayed alive, one day he could surprise them.

He smirked and dragged his feather duster across the surfaces of shelves, hanging statues, and paintings of sceneries. When that was done and to his liking, he'd wipe them down in preserving oil and polished them until the sun glistened off their surface. Carefully, he'd climb back down, reposition the ladder somewhere else, and climb back up. He plucked his needed tools from his waist bag and restarted the task.

Cleaning wasn't all that bad. Alsin snickered at his own stupidity. Well at least he's still alive.

"When all is gone.

I'll get my share.

Lock it in a cage

With none to spare

Far away, I'd disappear

Where no one would shed a single tear.

The wolf'll howl at the full

Of my expense and my girl

Lying next to me."

He chuckled, "Stupid song. Where in the hell did I learn that one?" he shrugged and leaned as far as he could to dust a hanging unlit lantern. The ladder shuttered to his left in a very violent way. He squawked, swiftly clinging onto the ladder's bars for dear life. He stayed as still as a statue waiting for the trimmers to subside.

"Oh gods above, please don't let me fall," he whispered squeezing his eyes close.

When the trimmers stopped he took a deep breath. "Wew." He repositioned the feather duster and stared water eyed at the lantern glass. 

Maybe I should climb down and move the ladder closer or I could do it last.

Last. He went to stick his duster into his pouch when the ladder did another violent shake. His stomach dropped to his wiggling knees as he clung on. "Aagh. Gods it's an earthquake," he wined hands gripping the bars and turning shades whiter. When the ladder came to a still he told himself to climb down, but his feet and legs would not move. Other times, he had Kaahiss or Casper standing at the bottom for safety reasons... and because he's scared of heights!