He woke up breathing heavily like how people wake up from nightmares in movies. His body now laid on the slightly uncomfortable sheets of "his" bed, or at least the bed of the room that was given to him.
On the bedside table were his part of last matches results. The Embalmer's delicate left hand reached the files and brought them to his lap.
Draw (2 survivors escaped)
Well, Aesop clearly wasn't one of them.
He put the paper beside his diary, stood up and left, closing the door behind him. A decorative wooden plaque, held by a string and a nail, with the word "Embalmer" written into it swayed at the movement. The sound comforted Aesop. It felt good to forget where he has sometimes, which rarely happened.
The survivor walked past many other doors. His room was practically the last in the corridor.
While walking down the stairs, a shameful smile shined on the face of his teammate from the last match.
"Aesop! Hey..." You could feel the awkwardness in Naib's words from a mile away.
Aesop wasn't really the sociable type, few of the manor residents actually talked to him. And when they did, they tried to force him to speak more. Not that he didn't appreciate the effort of his friends trying to fit him in, but it was difficult to translate his thoughts into words and not all of them understood that.
"I..." He made a pause. " I wanted to say I'm sorry for not saving you on the last match. I know I was embalmed and I more than anyone was in proper condition to save you, I just-"
A kind smile curved his lips behind the mask.
"Did you escape?" Aesop interrupted.
"...Yeah. Emily and I managed to decode the remaining ciphers..."
And when the awkward atmosphere began to rise again both made their ways to the dining table.
It was just long enough to fit all the survivors. Various pans spread around, a few plates, a few glasses, cutlery, nothing more than necessary (that's how things worked in the manor). Even the food was honestly below an acceptable level. But any type of meal after all those matches was divine and nobody dared to complain.
He sat on a chair near the end of the table.
"Look who is up! How are you feeling, Sleeping Beauty?" Emily asked happily.
She was on the opposite side of the table, wearing only her white dress, no hat.
"Much better, thanks to you." Aesop said.
His muscles were incredibly sore when he arrived at the manor, so, after Emily took care of his injuries, she insisted he should take a nap. Little did she know the main reason he accepted it had nothing to do with physical tiredness.
"You're welcome, dear." Said the doctor, giggling.
A shiver ran down the man's spine. The word dear, ...
"Don't make this more difficult than it already is, dear."
... why did it sound so much better when Joseph was the one calling him that?
Why did Joseph talk to him in the first place? Why was he so different from the other hunters? Why did he stop being as forgiving as he was before? Why were those blue eyes turning into a dark shade of bitterness?
"Hello? Earth calling Aesop!" Kreacher lightly smacked the Embalmer's head. "Are you going to eat that?"
Aesop simply pushed his plate to the side. "No, you can have it, it's alright."
"Dude, are you good? You're quieter than usual." William tilted his head.
Everyone looked at him like he had just said the dumbest thing.
"I am, really. No need to worry." He murmured and stood up. "I'm not hungry, that's all. I'll be in my room."
Emily left a warning before he had a chance to disappear.
"You're going to get even thinner, Aesop! Watch yourself!"
YOU ARE READING
Photographic Memory
Romance"Joseph was known in the manor for being the most forgiving among the Hunters. However, he could be really dangerous when he was in a bad mood while you're in the match. Just like this one." [I don't own any drawings, credits to the author.] [Englis...
