He Strikes at the Hotel

Chapter Ten

We had to leave his room without anyone taking much notice, and then sneak off down the stairs towards the rickety lift down to the basement. I decided that it would be better to take Zachery to the basement, specifically, the laundry room, when I explain my experience to him, as without the scene, I would ultimately sound mad, even if he claims otherwise.

The hotel was bustling with people and noise, everyone seemed to be in a rush to do one thing or another, whether that be the businessmen rushing down the hall because they came up with a brilliant business plan, or the restaurant staff rushing from the dining hall to the kitchen because a needy guest wanted something other than what was provided. Either way, everyone seemed to have a purpose, which meant that no one took much notice of us. Zachery had been here two days now, and his presence within the hotel has become normal for everyone, especially after this morning's meeting, so although a few women here and there gave him a double glance, no one seemed to be too bothered by him walking along the halls with a chambermaid.

That was until we passed two of Zachery's guards who were having a conversation amongst themselves in a corner, looking out of place to say the least. They clocked us immediately, diverting their attention from whatever the were speaking about, straight to us. They locked their gaze on the Duke first, then on to me, where their eyes stayed stuck to for an uncomfortable amount of time. Zachery noticed this and proceeded to acknowledge them with a nod and a simple "Afternoon, gentleman." Somehow he managed to look unfazed whilst speaking to them, continuing to walk in time with me down towards the lift as if nothing was out of the ordinary. He was a brilliant showman, which was a very good trait to have in these situations, however, it made me wonder whether he was putting on a show for me as well. No, I will not make this situation any more complicated than what it already is, thank you very much. I was scolding myself for even having the thought, it's not like anyone else would be willing to go to the basement with me to hear me tell a ghost story, is it?

The rest of the walk was in silence. When we arrived to the lift, we stood still for a moment before I began to move forwards to open the shutters. Zachery cut in and opened them for us, then directed me into the lift. It was a small gesture, but it was gentlemanly, and completely unexpected. Through all of this I sort of forgot who Zachery was, and this reminded me, he is royalty. I walked into the lift and turned round to see Zachery entering behind me and closing the shutter doors before setting the lift into action. It still felt like a prison, but it was slightly more bareable with him in the prison with me. The lighting in the lift was just one oil lamp, so it was dim, and we could only just make out each other's facial features on the journey down to the basement. I could notice how defined his jaw was, and how his eyes glistened in the minimal light that was available. When I got over my observations, I realised he was staring directly at me. I was about to say something, but we reached the basement at that very moment, which reminded me of why we were there.

Zachery opened the shutters, and I took a deep breath. I hadn't been down here since the incident happened, and it's been haunting me since. He noticed my hesitance to get out, and put his hand on my shoulder and asked "Are you alright?" He said this genuinely, and I felt a surge of emotion rush through me like a wave crashing down on the sand. "Yes, I'm fine." I lied.

I stepped out of the lift and directed Zachery along through the basement, past the maintenance workshop and down the hall towards the dreaded laundry room. He didn't say a word as he Observed his surroundings, I could tell he was taking everything in, and I could tell he wasn't enjoying being down here either. "A bit gloom and doom down here, isn't it?" He said flatly. My anxiety lifted slightly at this attempt at a joke, and I responded lightly, "What do you expect when there's no windows, people or happiness?" I smirked at him as he looked baffled at my response, unable to think of a witty remark to throw back at me.

"Well," I exhaled, "now we are down here, I will tell you what happened. I came down here to gather some sheets, bathrobe and towels for your arrival." After saying this, I remembered the chant I was reciting to myself as I was walking down here before to keep my mind off of the atmosphere. "It was cold, like it usually is, and I felt slightly more on edge than what I usually would. I read a lot of stories, you see, ones that would terrify some people. My mind gathers this information and plays games on me sometimes, but this wasn't one of them. I was walking down this very hall, when a door slammed. No one ever comes down here, it was early in the morning before the maintance men even arrived to work." As I said this I noticed that Zachery was listening intently, he was actually listening, and not interrupting, or saying how silly it sounded. "So I was confused and a bit concerned, as I realised it was the laundry room door that slammed, and I swear there is no way there could be any draft to cause that, so I assumed someone else was down here. So obviously, I went in with caution, expecting someone to be in there, but when I got in, there was no one there at all. The room isn't that big, I'm sure I would have noticed otherwise, but it was empty. So I grabbed the things I needed for your arrival and began to leave. As I did that, the shelves began to shake with a force I couldn't explain, and I heard a male voice shout "Get out." It frightened me and I left without hesitating. Since then I haven't been back down here. But I think it constitutes as what you would class as 'strange' or 'out of the ordinary'."

"When was this?" Zachery asked, with some haste in his voice.

"The morning of your arrival, a few hours before you got here, why?" I questioned as we reached the laundry room.

"I'll explain later, I just want to see where this happened first. Plus, I could really do with another bathrobe, and maybe a couple more pillows." He nudged my elbow as he said this, and it made me feel a little more at ease before I entered that room again.

Suddenly, there was a sound of something dropping on the hard floor, like a pencil or something similar in size, but it was loud enough to attract both of our attentions. I looked round quickly, hoping to see Nerissa down here wondering where I had gone, or even one of the maintenance men getting on with their work, but I had no such luck. We were the only two down here.

"Let's go in." I said.