Part of Me is You

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As soon as he passed through the bark, my tensed body relaxed. I don't know what is currently happening. Too many things are being forced inside my brain. Things that are quite impossible yet is currently happening. I suddenly remembered the feather pendant around my neck. It was a little bit warm but at the same time it feels cold. It was also a bit heavy. You would think that a feather would be weightless but this one weights a lot.

His touch still lingers around my neck, reminding me that he is never too far. I tried removing the necklace but the metal suddenly sizzled against my skin and burned a line on my neck. I quickly retracted my hand and tried to tolerate the pain. The heat remained for a while before it completely disappeared.

"Only the master can heal wounds like that..." A childish voice behind me suddenly spoke.

I turned around and saw her. She was a young girl with brownish black hair that reaches until her hips. There were several blue lines on her upper right arm and her skin was a little bit greenish. Aside from those, she looks like a normal person.

"My name is Gala. I've been commanded to take care of all your needs." She said as she bowed down and looked straightly at the floor.

"My name is-"

"Mistress Layla" she interrupted. "Master told me that he would be changing your name to Layla."

I stared at her blankly. He changed my name? Without my consent?! I do think that I have a say in this kind of things!

"My name is not Layla. It's Rita."

"The Master's orders are absolute. All of us in this house should call you Mistress Layla." She added while still staring at the ground with her head bowed.

I dropped the issue about names since I know that arguing can only make me tired. Instead, i asked "All of you? Does that mean that there are more of you?"

"Yes, there are 14 of us here."

I wonder why I like the idea but at least I have someone with me. Who knows? She might be able to help me escape. I looked around and saw no one else except her. "Where are the others?" I asked.

"They are on the 2nd floor of this tree. Would you like to meet them??" She asked me curiously with a hint of amusement.

"Ofcourse! I can't wait to see who I'm going to be living with!" I replied sarcastically.

Gala turned the other way and started to walk. She motioned for me to follow and I did. We passed by series of doors with different signs carved on the front and through hallways that looks endless.

There were bright lights everywhere. Not from lightbulbs but from the bark of the tree. They emit a soft and bright glow and it illuminated the whole place. We went down a series of wooden stairs and continued walking in silence.

There were several flowers growing through the wall. What can I say? It is made of clumped roots, vines, and some other wooden stuffs.

After some more walking in this unknown place, we finally stopped in front of a door that has a carving of a raven drinking from a silver goblet. The doors look ominous and won't open unless pushed by a truck made of gold.

"Before we enter, I must warn you not trust anyone here. Especially my sisters." Gala quietly said while looking at the door.

"Why? I don't think anyone of you can hurt me because I have this thing around my neck. At least that's what he said." I intentionally made the word 'thing' and the word "he" sound disgusting.

For the first time, she turned to look at me and stared directly at my eyes. "You don't understand! It is because you have the Master's feather that you have to be much more wary and careful of everyone. Every creature in the land of Atrilus wants to have that feather. Especially those who wants to gain power." She said, worry and sadness evident in her eyes but somehow there was something else that she is forcing to hide behind those innocent eyes.

As if she suddenly realized something, Gala kneeled with her hands on the floor. "I apologize for looking at your face. Please forgive me."

What is the issue about looking at someones eyes?

"It's fine." I softly said. "Stand up. You don't have to be too respectful."

She was a bit surprised of what I said. "You're not going to punish me?"

"Punish you? For what?" I curiously asked.

"The Master usually whips us or leaves us to starve in the prison if we look into the eyes of someone higher. It is not a servant's place to look into the eyes of someone higher than them."

There's a prison somewhere in this place? Disgusting...

"No, I'm not going to punish you so we might as well go and meet your sisters."

"Thank you very much." She replied as she slowly stood up and faced the door. "As long as you are ready."

Gala swiped her hand over the raven carving and I heard some ticking and creaking sounds before the door creaked open.

The first thing I saw? Overflowing blood and dead bodies...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Please vote and comment! I don't really know if the story is nice or very boring so I need help. Please please please comment or vote! Thanks for reading!