The Rose of Anthacena

Chapter 11

          Rose stood inside a foyer like the one her father described. Unsure of what to do with her suitcase, as she didn't want to bring it with her as she walked around, she set it down next to the door,. Then she decided her books would be to heavy to carry around with her, so she left it with her suitcase and began to explore.

After about ten minutes, Rose came across a small room with a table set for one in it. Going by her father's experience, she assumed the food was for her, and she ate it gratefully, as she was rather hungry by this time. Once she was finished, she kept going, looking for the someone she knew was around here somewhere.

* * *

"Well?" Tasmarin demanded as soon as he heard Will's footsteps enter the room. Will came closer before answering.

"It is someone I have never seen before," he said. Then he clarified, "To be more specific, it is a girl I have never seen before." Tasmarin jumped up from his seat.

"Truly?" he asked in astonishment. "She actually came?" Beaming, WIll nodded.

"Indeed she did, master," he said proudly.

"What does she look like?" Tasmarin asked curiously. WIll laughed.

"You'll just have to find out for yourself," he replied. Then he lowered his voice. "But I will tell you this--she is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen."

* * *

Rose wandered through several rooms of all kinds-dining rooms, living rooms, bedrooms, music room (which Rose eyed longingly, as many of them had a piano in them), rooms large enough to have dance in, etc. There was nobody in any of them, which forced her to keep going. After a while, though, she figured she had seen pretty much the entire house, and had still seen no one. Suddenly, a voice came out of nowhere.

"Miss," it said, causing Rose to whirl around, searching for the speaker, "if you'll come with me, I will take you to meet the master." Rose looked around, but saw nobody, even though she was sure she was looking at the exact spot the voice had come from.

"Who are you?" she asked suspiciously. Then she added, "And where are you?" Whoever it was laughed.

"My name is Will," he-Will-said. "And I'm afraid you won't find me. I'm invisible." Rose tried not to let her shock be too evident on her face, but she didn't think it was working.

"Invisible," she repeated doubtfully.

"Yes," Will replied. "Long story. Far too long to ever tell you."

"Huh," was Rose's only response. Then, "So, you were going to take me to meet 'the master.'"

"Ah, yes, so I was. This way, please." Rose heard footsteps and a side door opened. She stepped through and waited. She heard the door click shut and she felt a hand on her arm to lead the way. She had no choice but to follow blindly. "I must warn you, miss," said Will (who, Rose had just noticed, had a distinct English accent), "the master can be a bit...frightening when you first get to know him. But you'll find out as you go along that he has some good qualities also. However, he has a terrible temper, and he often lets it get the best of him. You'll discover that all for yourself soon enough, but I just thought I'd warn you." Will stopped in front of huge wooden double doors. "My advice for this evening, miss, is to just as he tells you. It should help prevent his temper from coming out in full force."

Will opened one of the doors and gently pushed Rose inside before closing it behind her. She blinked at the dim light in the room, which, unlike most of the rooms she had been in, had no windows, and was not also lit by many candles. Rather, the only source of light in the room was a fire in a fireplace on the other side of the room. A huge shadow sat in an equally sized chair in front of the fire. Rose took a deep breath. She knew this was the reason she was here. She was starting to step forward when a deep, loud voice stopped her mid-stride.