Our second world- Book two: War is coming

Chapter 6

~???~

I don't remember what happened, but the next thing I knew, a bright light fell across my face and I rolled onto my side to get away. I was surprised to feel something soft on my hands and something squishy under my body.

Opening my eyes, I found the scene of a large bedroom. I was laying on the black bed in my armor, but my hood was off and my mask was no-where to be found. The source of the light that woke me was two large windows to either side of the bed.

I tried to sit up, but my body was so stiff I could hardly move.

There was a quiet knock on the door and a black haired woman wearing a maids uniform walked in carrying a tray of food. When she saw that I was awake, she set the tray in my lap and helped me sit up. Propping a few pillows behind my back before leaving the room.

Picking up the plate of food to inspect it, I couldn't smell anything strange, but I still didn't entirely trust it. There were too many times where he would put poison in my food for the sole purpose of watching me suffer.

Eventually, I ate it, against my better judgment. My hunger was stronger than my common sense and I quickly ate everything.

Shortly after I was done eating, the maid returned with a tall, red haired man close behind. As he sat down in a chair at the side of the bed, I noticed a small girl at his side, clinging to his arm.

"Hello. I'm glad to see you're awake. Are you feeling alright?" His tone didn't seem to be hiding any ill intent, but my trust in people had been shattered long ago and I couldn't bring myself to believe he was truly trying to help me.

"What are you going to do to me?" I asked quietly, not entirely out of fear, but curiosity.

"Well..." He paused," That's for you to decide since your slave collar has been removed. If you want to stay here, I can offer you a job, but I wont stop you if you choose to leave."

"Then, I will stay." I said after giving both options some thought.

"Great. Before I can officially assign you a job, I need to know your name."

"I don't have one anymore."

"Well, we have to call you something," He smiled," Why don't we go with Artemis, then?"

"Artemis." The name had a nice sound to it," then please call me Artemis from now on,"

"Sure. I'm Haren." He said, extending his hand for me to shake.

"Of course, sir." I blushed. Not because I was embarased, but because I was so overcome with a feeling of warmth in my chest at having a name to call my own again.

"Well then, Klara, can you have the room down the hall and a uniform prepared for Artemis please?" Haren said, standing," I'd like to give you a tour." I nodded and he turned to the brown haired girl at his arm," Do you want to go find August?"

"No. I want to stay with you, master." She shook her head.

He laughed," I told you not to call me master anymore, remember?"

"Yes. I'm just not used to 'father' yet." The small girl replied.

"Father? She's your daughter?"

"Corect. This is Marylyn, my adopted daughter." He said, leading me downstairs.

Unlike last night when the house seemed empty, there were various maids cleaning the halls. I counted five in total as I was lead to various rooms of the house. The last room on the short tour was a large dining room on the west side. It had a high ceiling and a long spruce table with at least a dozen chairs. Two of which were occupied by a blonde haired man and woman. The woman had an empty plate in front of her and a book in her hands while the man seemed to have just sat down.

"Oh, good morning darling," The man purred when Haren took the seat next to him.

"Good morning again, August. Did you sleep well last night?" Haren replied, planting a kiss on the mans cheek.

"Could you two please refrain from being so lovey dovey at the table?" The woman teased.

"Sorry, we can't help it," Said the man.

"I'd like to introduce you both to my new hire, Artemis," Haren said, butting into their conversation.

The woman groaned and slammed her book down on the table," I'm not even gonna ask," She said," I'm Grace, Harens sister. It's nice to meet you." she smiled and shook my hand.

"My names August," Said the man, doing the same.

"Master?" The maid I saw earlier appeared in the doorway.

"Klara. Done?" She nodded," Then, Artemis, please aquaint yourself with your room."

I followed the maid, Klara, back up to the second floor and over to a door directly down the hall from Harens room. It was a lot smaller than his room, but still larger that ones in a normal house. There was a large bed in the middle of the room with black curtains hanging over red sheets and a piled of similarly colored pillows. At the end of the bed was a small wooden desk and on one wall was a similarly sized vanity and a tall wardrobe which had a few dresses in it. Through a small attached door was a bathroom. The tub already filled with steamy water.

I waited for the maid to leave before heading to the bathroom and closing the door.

Undoing the buckles and straps of my armor, I took it off and set it in a pile before slipping into the warm bath. My silver hair that was down past my waist floated in the water around me. It looked like I was sitting in a pool of liquid silver. Usually on the rare occasion I had the chance to bathe, I never had a long time to do it, and the water was never warm. Now that I had the chance, I took my time soaking in the bath. Climbing out more than an hour later after the water had completely chilled.

Wrapping myself in a soft towel, I headed back out to the room. When I opened the tall wardrobe, I found three dresses hanging in it. One was a lavender color with lots of frills on the skirt and sleeves. The second was an emerald green with a lot of lace and a trail on the skirt. The last one was a dark crimson color with a short skirt that went slightly past my knees and had a high collar and tight fitting sleeves.

I chose the red one since the collar would be high enough to cover the scar on my neck, and put it on before drying off my hair so it was damp but not dripping water. When I was satisfied with it, I sat down at the vanity and found a brush to fix my hair. 

When I was done, I flopped down on the bed and pulled the curtains hanging around the bed closed. Creating a slightly darker atmosphere so I could comfortably rest.