Hidden Worlds: The Sheltered Princess

Case Closed

I woke up.

Curiosity slowly pried my eyes open, only to be greeted by an off-white colored ceiling — no, the whole room is off white. I'm in the school's clinic. Indoor plants and a few paintings gave life to the room. The doors were shut while the windows were wide open.

The gentle breeze made its way in the room, playing with the curtains as the sun's rays pierced through. It was calm, quiet; the only noise I could hear was the rustling of the leaves on the trees and the scrubbing of the broom as the janitor worked outside.

I lay on my bed quietly, my eyes focused on the light bulb on top of me while I got lost in thought for a moment.

No, all that just happened wasn't a dream.

It all happened.

I remember all of it, vividly.

Cassia, Nora, Sonia...

I still have so many questions to answer.

If I recall correctly, Sonia is back at my Hidden World along with her and Cassia's past selves. Nora is still an immovable force, but what happened last night should've saved Cassia from her.

It was only now when there were moments where I wanted to be my past self again, but I'm still trying to find it.

"Ah," speaking of things to find, "where's my bag?"

From forgetting my phone and umbrella, which lead to this whole mess, to forgetting my bag...

I sighed.

After wasting enough time, I finally got out of bed.

I noticed a note sitting on a desk beside me — it was from Nora. The red wax seal with a big N etched on it made it obvious.

I've decided to open it later and hold onto it for now.

Because of Nora's intrusion, my first case has been quite a bother to close, but I did like what I gained along the way. If this note ends up being another task or chore for me to do for her, it can wait.

For the past decade, I've never really seen myself as someone with any particular role in life. My lifeless tone, my bored expression, my cold replies. I wanted to end every chore and conversation thrown at me as soon as possible, yet I never took the effort to end it.

I would just sigh.

And now...

I left the room and wandered around campus with a goal fixed in my mind — to find my bag. If I backtracked the places I've been recently, I'll find my bag soon.

Eventually, I'm bound to bump into Cassia if I just keep roaming around the school grounds.

As I scouted around, I noticed some ghosts here and there.

Some outside the library, a few in the playground, and a couple loitering in the halls. They're all students of different ages minding their own business. If one were to see this with my eyes, they'd think these are just ordinary students going by their day.

The thing is...

I haven't really spent time on campus during the weekends or even late at night, so I've only noticed this now. I do see these students during the weekdays, though I don't recognize their faces much. I'm confident enough to claim that I've memorized every single student enrolled in this school thanks to my camera, but I'm certain these children are not enrolled, just like Cassia.

Considering how all schools follow the same uniform design, with some slight alterations depending on the node, these students must've wandered all the way through here.