S a l e t é I I

XII - Oreilles - Quatre

"How long are they usually gone for?"

"Usually an hour or so. We used to have a working clock, but it broke a while back. Monet likes to do what she can by times."

Cassia had been about as close to content as she could have been whilst she'd been sat with Zisel, assisting her in the manner she'd offered, the two of them passing the time together. Not having any sort of feel for what hour of the day it was - or even for time at all - imbued her with a strange sensation, slightly unsettling in nature. Still, it was hardly her biggest concern.

Everything was still dark... The warehouse did have small windows that ran from one wall the other, almost right up against the ceiling, but no substantial light had filtered through them at any point. Instead, the dreary level of illumination remained constant, disturbed only by contained flames in various places.

"It'll be time for a drink when they get back though! Are you thirsty?" Zisel asked, sounding more than a little keen at the prospect.

"I um, Monet gave me a drink earlier. I'd feel kind of bad if I had another so soon, seeing as you've only got so much..."

"It's fine, you're our newcomer, right? And we're doing okay for now anyway, I'm pretty sure."

She'd been thinking about what Monet and the others might have been doing at that moment, and about the sort of things they had to do each day. Back at Deering House, Cassia had liked to imagine that she worked for her daily drinks by doing chores, being a good sister to Adeline and by assisting the servants, but the girls here had to actually go out and use their wits.

"Zisel?"

"Hmm?"

"Have you known Monet for a long time?"

"Ooh, probably about... Well, it's hard to say. Months, that's for sure. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious, I guess."

"It's a good thing I did meet her. Nobody else in Lower Merveille would have wanted a blind Jouet, trust me."

Zisel was quite easy to talk to, and Cassia felt a little more comfortable with her than she did with the others, thanks to what seemed like that natural kindness of hers. She would have probably ranked Uliana at the same level, considering how she'd helped her, and whilst the girl in red herself had also done her a service, that slightly heavier air that accompanied her presence leant her that characteristic intensity.

Maybe, for her, a good part of that intensity stemmed from how she'd been the one to make her see things that she wouldn't have otherwise seen?

"I'm just glad I can do something to help out. I know I'm not as useful as the others, but as long as I can do something, that's what matters. Every little bit helps." Zisel said, and whilst Cassia found such a statement to carry a somewhat saddened note, the girl herself didn't seem at all downtrodden or upset as she spoke it, as if she'd simply uttered a fact.

"Well, um, I want to help too. If I'm going to be here for the next few days then I at least want to make myself useful too." Cassia said, her tone a little firmer now, and such a declaration prompted Zisel to ask her a question.

"Where are you going after that?"

"Home, hopefully. I just have to find a way back."

"Ohh, right. Dumb question really. It's just weird, that's all."

"How do you mean?"

"Here is home for me, and the other girls. It might take me a while to actually get my head around the fact you're a guest, like I said."