Hotel Selten

Chapter Seven

"Ughmm..."

A groan was been heard in the bed area of Room 107 along with the chirp of the birds and rustling of leaves. A sunbeam strike Ophelia's face which makes her groan more when she tries to rise from the bed. She throws herself on the comfy mattress as her barely open eyes look at the surroundings. She then realized about what happened last night, she rose from the bed quickly as she scrutinized more around the room.

She was going to leave the bed as the door opens, it was the same lady that she met in the hotel's lobby before. Now, instead of keys, her hands are holding a tray with a tea kettle and a teacup. They looked at each other and the woman leads the conversation.

"You're awake, as I expected." She said as she sets the tray aside on the work table. Ophelia looked at her with her eyebrows raised, investigating every physical aspect of her. Indeed, she's the hotel's counter lady. "Dulse scared you a lot last night."

"Dulse...? The u-uhm... the weird... sort of... thing?" She nervously said she is trying to be careful with her words, trying to be respectful as she can, even tho she can really tell that the Dulse the lady was talking about was indeed a monster who scared her almost to her death. Her hair and especially her teeth. It's scary and she can kill someone, but the lady seems like catering to weird people in her hotel.

"I know you are thinking that she is a monster. Well, let us be honest, in any eyes which had their very first sight of her, they will run, they will scream and they will probably do the same thing as what happened to you last night. But, Dulse, she is so precious. She never chose her body, I remember when we found her in the streets, she was soaking wet." The lady giggles as she continues to tell the story while pouring some tea into the teacups.

"It was normal for an Aquain Flos, we kept her and she has been here for 5 years." She turns to her and gasps lightly as she realizes something. "How rude of me, I am not introducing still! Forgive me, anyways, I am Miss―"

She was interrupted as the door suddenly opens, they turn their heads to it and it revealed an innocent looking girl with long hair just resting on the ground. She was holding another tray, unlike what the lady brought, it was a pie, and by the judge of smell, it was an apple pie. She slowly smiles and looks at the lady, "Good morning, Miss Eve."

"Good morning to you too, Dulse, come and let us eat breakfast." She reached her shoulder as she lets her put the tray on the work desk, she was trying to cover her face to Ophelia with her hair. The lady―which apparently Dulse called Miss Eve―takes the pie knife and starts cutting pies for each one of them. She gave it on a small plate with a pastry fork. Ophelia accepted it and started eating since she hasn't had eaten yet since yesterday afternoon. Thilda started to take a bite while Miss Eve settles aside the remaining pie and ate hers.

"Dulse..." She broke the silence between them. The girl turned to her as she munches the pie in her mouth. "Remember...?" Miss Eve continues as Dulse nods, she turned to Ophelia who is enjoying her morning pie. "Uhm... I am sorry for what happened last night... I was just excited to see who is the new person in the hotel. I didn't mean to show these monstrous teeth and I-i―"

"Nice to meet you Dulse, and I... It's okay. It's just a normal response, you know... Human's natural survival instincts?" She smiled awkwardly as Dulse raised her eyebrows and looked at the lady, she seems confused. Miss Eve seems to understand what she was implying and holds her shoulders to assure her. She looks at Ophelia who already finished her pie, smiling. "I guess things are okay now." The teenage girl in her bed nods and she places the plate on the small table just beside her bed.

"Anyways, you may go now Dulse." Miss Eve said as Dulse smiles and goes out of the room, waving goodbye to them before closing the door. "Such a humble girl." She turned to Ophelia again. "Are you feeling fine now?" She reached a cup of tea to her as Ophelia accepted and takes a sip. She nods, the lady sighed in relief. "I will go now, I will check on others." She took the trays, the pie, the teacups, and the teapot and left the room.