Unterralym

Unterralym (2)

Chapter 2

            Carter blinked his eyes. He must have been hallucinating, because he had just seen the girl from the maze at the center of his room. In a flash, she was gone. Carter stood frozen by the doorframe.

            He stood there until a female voice behind him said, “Mr Bentalon?”

            Surprised, he turned around and saw that it was just Amira, one of the maids that take care of his room in his absence. Normally, it would be him doing that, since his father orders him to, but Amira is always willing to take care of it for him. “Oh, Amira. I apologize for-“

            “I saw it too,” she interrupted. She looked at him with a perplexed expression. “Do you know who she is?”

            He looked away from her and muttered, “Not exactly.”

            “Oh,” she replied, lowering her gaze, disappointed. “I see then.”

            He eyed her suspiciously, and she flickered a glance towards him, then back at the floor. A sudden smirk came upon his face. “What’s your theory this time?” Knowing Amira, she would always have a new theory she read from a book in her spare time. Sometimes, they’re a little irrational and make no sense at all, but they are amusing to listen to, nonetheless.

            She looked up, her face shining with excitement. “I was thinking that she was probably someone you knew from your past life, someone important, and you’re a reincarnation of the one that knew her. She’s probably still dead, but you’ve been given another life.”

            He gave a light chuckle, but his mind was already processing that thought. Maybe she was just a spirit. Maybe what she was saying was true. Then again, the idea is still mad; it did come from a story after all. “An absurd theory!” he exclaimed with a smile.

            She grinned. “I know, you always say that about my theories, but even I think they’re absurd myself.” Her grin faltered. “However, I really do wish they were real.” Her eyes started to gleam with interest. “Living in a world with abnormal occurrences, fantasy-like sceneries, a world of mysteries…” she shuddered. “That would be amazing.”

            He smiled grimly. He never knew what to say to Amira when she goes on about stories she’s read; he’s barely touched a story book in his whole life. “Do you dream about them often?”

            She nodded vigorously. “Yes I do! But that’s not sufficient to satisfy me. I need to actually live in the storybook.” She glanced past Carter to his room. “Now if you must excuse me, your father has ordered you to clean your room. In which case, I will take care of that for you.” She then pushed past him, her black skirt with laced ends brushing against him, neglecting to curtsy.

            She whipped her head back towards Carter, letting her long, blond hair fly. “One more thing; you don’t need to worry about me whenever I talk endlessly about books. I don’t expect much of a response from you anyways. I know you don’t read. No one reads, except for me.” She then turned back around and started to fix the sheets on Carter’s bed.

            Carter eyed his sword behind his bed. He was thinking he should probably practice, give a few swings of the sword like he would normally do. Then again, he probably should try reading. The only problem is, he wasn’t sure what he was interested in. He didn’t even know where to get books. Only Amira would know, but she was busy right now, and he didn’t want to disturb her.