make me stay.

nine

♜

my father truly had prepared me for every single different letter i could have gotten. he had taught me to climb, fight, flee and anything else useful for survival.

i remembered once where we went on a day trip to a market and he left me by the gates. told me to wait for him until he got back but he never did.  he went home, and i quickly realized that i had to find my way home by myself.

memory was the at most important thing to have, living where we did. he had always told me that.

but the castle was not anything like the woods.

every turn i took lead me back down the same halls. every staircase i took downwards seemed to lead upwards. this entire place was nothing less than a maze, and i expect that to have been thought into the whole construction. if the impossible were to happen, and enemies entered, they would their sense of left or right and would get lost in the matter of minutes.

i stopped by the staircase, trying to decide what to do. where do i go? i had no idea how far i had moved from the room i had woken up in, but it wasn't even a question that mercer and nathaniel knew their way around. they would find me soon enough if i didn't hide or find a way out.

luckily, however, most guards and staff were asleep, so they were most likely on their own. two against one.

if i had to say it myself, i had done pretty well with twenty wolves just behind me earlier on. i had made it far before they caught up. so, my odds surely showed better this time.

deciding to just follow the stairs down until i couldn't go further, i soon found myself in the basement. at least, in my own guess. three halls in four directions but only one closely resembled the halls upstairs. 

all the doors had signs and titles above, which made it easier to figure out where i was. service quarters. every single person working in the castle had a room here.

they seemed to be two people in each room, so i continued down until i found a sign with only one name, and the other one crossed out. dead, probably. as mentioned, your letter was your life and your life didn't stop until your heartbeat did. my stomach twisted only the slighest bit as i stared at the sign for just a moment too long. i hated this mountain. 

"perfect," i whisper to myself, quietly pushing the door open, before giving a quick glance to my outfit. a plain dress that had been white at the beginning of the day, but had taken on quite the battle which was clearly visible. my socks were also long, still white enough, and my hair was messy, but it could have looked worse.

"harry?" a voice calls out.

i quickly step in, closing the door behind me. my eyes had had enough time to adjust to the darkness to notice a lamp sitting on a side table by the door. i light one of the matches next to it, before lighting up it up. the flame catches on quickly, and i spot the server to my left. 

"not exactly," i reply, as light grows in the room.

i notice the shook on her face before she can hide it, as she makes eye contact with me.

she's laying in bed, not exactly dressed for sleeping. her hair is tied back with an elastic at the back of her neck, i notice trying to keep myself from seeing just how little clothes she has on. she quickly covers up, hiding her body beneath the sheets.

"you're expecting company, i assume." i speak, testing the waters. how easy is this girl to scare?

"no, i-" she stutters. "it's forbidden, i'm aware. i-"