Go to Hell (on hold)

FIVE

I woke to a knocking on my door. After a few seconds of silence, the knocking resumed, twice as hard as before. With a huff, I dragged myself out of bed and yanked on my horrid dress from last night. Before whoever was on the other side of my door could pound on it again, I swung it open. A girl around my age was on the other end. She had a cute pixy cut and a maids' uniform.

"Hello, I'm Karen," she greeted, and pushed past me into the room. She set a tray down on my bed. It consisted of toast, eggs, and orange juice. I cringed. Orange juice had always been unpleasant to drink ever since my mother had forced lemon juice and vinegar down my throat for talking to a neighbor boy. Now acidic things burned when I drank them.

"I'm Sang."

"I know. I figured you might want to take breakfast in your room."

"Thank you." I sat down on my bed and took a bite of my toast. Karen busied herself around my room, putting pajamas and other clothes into the dresser drawers and dusting off the cracked mirror. She hummed while she worked.

"I heard dinner went well last night," Karen said. I shrugged

"I guess. Does Luke always have that many girls around?"

"No, usually he has more," she giggled. "They all do."

"Oh." I chewed on some egg. "Who is Blackbourne?"

Karen turned to me with wide eyes and froze. "How do you know about him?"

"Gabriel mentioned him."

"He- he shouldn't have done that. Mr. Blackbourne is basically the ruler of the Underworld. Stay away from him."

"Okay."

"I'm serious, Sang. He will rip out your intestines and leave you to be picked at by birds if you say something he doesn't like. Pull out all of your nails if you annoy him. They rest aren't much better. In fact, stay away from all of them as much as you can." A shiver ran down my spine.

"I will. Thank you for warning me."

"You should remain in here today. They're all in a mood."

"I can't be in my room all day. There's nothing to do." Karen sighed.

"Wait here a second. I'll be right back." She left and a few minutes later she was back with a bin full of laundry and a sewing kit. "These are all torn. If you need something to do, repair them."

"Thank you." She picked up my half eaten breakfast tray.

"I'll be back at noon to deliver lunch. Don't leave."

"I won't. Goodbye."

"Bye, Sang."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I tried to do as Karen suggested and stay in my room. I mended the clothes and sheets she gave me and even made an awful attempt at embroidery. But by the afternoon I was bored out of my mind and felt as if I was suffocating in my small, drafty room. The hallway was empty when I stepped into it. I started walking in the direction of the stairs then paused. Where would I go? I wasn't about to explore the house in fear that I would run into one of the boys. Or worse, Mr. Blackbourne. That only left going outside, where there was less of a chance I would see them. Kota had said I was allowed to so long as I stayed on their property. The garden then. It was the only truly beautiful thing here. I crept down the stairs and through the eerily desolate halls until I came to the maroon room with the piano. The door to the garden was a bit difficult to find as it was made to look like the surrounding wall, but it was well worth it as my bare feet came in contact with soft, perfectly manicured grass. I let myself smile and scrunched my toes in the grass. The roses smelled sweet and I wondered if I could sneak a couple up to my room. I wandered through the garden, stroking flower petals as I went. This was what I needed, and now I could finally get a clear head. I had died. That was fine. My life had never been great to begin with, so there wasn't much for me to lose. I was in a house of demons. That was less fine. I needed to start looking for a job and a house of my own soon. Although, what kind of jobs there were in the Underworld, I had no idea.