Midwinter's Festival Pt.2

Ophelia was still missing from the carriage and people were beginning to worry. I was people to be specific, but that doesn't matter. Ophelia had never been late for anything, and I doubt she would ever be late for going home. She had been talking excitedly about being able to go home and see her younger brothers for awhile.

Something just didn't feel right.

"I'll be right back. Perhaps the Young Miss got stuck talking to her classmates." I spoke aloud to the other servants and began to walk away before turning back and grabbing little Elodie from the carriage and carrying her with me. At least I call it a her. I don't know anymore. I just feel like she'll be helpful. Although I'm not sure why.

I navigated my ways through the school where I thought Ophelia could be. The dorms, classrooms, garden, even the cafeteria. I could find her no where and I was getting progressively more worried as the seconds ticked by. Where could she be? This was a school for God's sake!

She couldn't have been kidnapped, right? Maybe she got lost in an unknown part of the school. Or something happened with her classmates?

Or maybe she was already back at the carriage and waiting for me and I was just overthinking all this. But I knew I wasn't.

"Elodie, do you know where Ophie is?" I was honestly trying to coax a response out of a plant at this point. I was desperate, okay? Surprisingly, I did end up getting a reply. Elodie's tiny bush body shook ever so slightly. There was no breeze or anything to prompt her shaking, which meant she moved on her own.

I wasn't expecting that, but I'd take anything at this point.

The little plant continued to shake as I walked around, shaking violently depending on the direction I was going. I became so engrossed in paying attention to Elodie's motions that I lost sight of where I was. The hallway was completely unfamiliar to me and actually looked quite aged, peeling paint upon its walls.

Did the school even have a section that looked like this? I think the groundskeepers would have heart attacks about even a smudge of dirt between a crack.

Elodie's shaking came to an abrupt stop when I stopped in front of a door. It was a wooden double door, looking quite new in comparison to the rest of the hallway. It had a newly varnished luster to it and the gilded doorknobs were still shining like the golden sun. I became suspicious instantly.

"Elodie. Are you sure this is where Ophelia is?"

Elodie gave no response at this point, not even a little shudder. Some help you are. I continued to stare at the door with apprehension, not sure what to do. I obviously wouldn't just throw it open, that would be rude and unbecoming of a quality maid such as myself. So I did the second best thing.

I gave the door two gentle raps with my fist, just like I had been taught.

I expected the door to slowly creep open like in a horror movie, but that didn't occur. Instead, I received nothing for a bit of time. I was going to knock again until I heard a familiar voice come from the other side.

"Who's there?" It was Ophelia's voice. Yet, it didn't feel right. It didn't sound right despite it being the exact voice I had heard for her entire life. It wasn't right. It just wasn't.

I did not give my name to the peculiar voice, but instead asked a question back. "If I may ask, who is occupying this room?"

I was given silence in return before the voice asked again.

"Who's there?"

"Well, who's in there?"

"Who's there?"

"I asked you second."

"Who's. There?"

"Who. Are. You?"

As the disembodied voice continued to return its question to me, it lost more and more of its Ophelia qualities. It lost the sweetness and seemed to grow deeper, adding more to my discomfort. I was glad that I hadn't opened the door.

"I can see that we have reached an impasse, as neither of us are willing to share our identities."

The voice did not reply this time. It looks like we agree.

"So how about we do this? You come out here. I can see who you are and you'll see who I am. Then we'll both be satisfied."

The disembodied voice didn't reply for a long time. Then all of a sudden, it laughed. I practically jumped when it began to laugh. It wasn't that the laugh was scary or anything, it just surprised me. The laugh was actually quite melodious, like a ringing bell or baby's first laugh. When it finally stopped, the voice actually replied to me.

"I like you. You're a smart thing." I was going to say thank you before it continued to speak. "Although you're quite dense. You can tell when a situation is dangerous, but you can't even see things dangling right in front of your eyes."

"I feel sorry for your mistress."

"What does Ophi- my mistress have anything to do with this?"

"Many have sight, but not all have vision. Many have intelligence, but not wisdom. All have life, but not all live. You shall know in time, Marie. Surely."

I was caught off guard at the mention of my real name. I hadn't heard it for such a long time, but I never forgot it. How did this person know it?

"How-"

"I know many things, Marie. Some things that humans wouldn't be able to take. Things that might drive them crazy and vie to know more. Things that might destroy the very fabric of this world. They're mostly embarrassing childhood anecdotes of important people."

... And here I was taking this voice seriously.

"Well, since I like you so much I'll give you a little gift. It's that time of year for gift giving, isn't it? Midwinter or something, correct?"

"Yes, but you don't have to-"

"Then I hope you'll accept this gift! It's really not much but I hope you'll accept it. Oh! And if you get gifted one of those little plants, don't put it in direct sight of you. For privacy."

"But-"

"And take care of that pink fellow, won't you? He's a troubled little thing, but he's a good child. I can't watch over him all the time, y'know?"

"Are you even listening?"

This random voice is ignoring me and going off on its own tangent. Are they talking about Alexander? He's the only pink guy I know. Why do I have to take care of him? And what was that thing about the plants? I have never been so confused since I first came to this world.

"Oh my, this old person's just been going on and on. I need to send you back before they think you've gone into a coma. Remember my gift, alright?"

Coma?! What are they talking about?! Before I could go off on my own tangent, I began to feel dizzy. I stumbled around for a short bit before falling into the warm embrace of what felt like sleep. But that wasn't right. I had been awake this whole time, right?

Right?

--------

As the purple-haired girl faded away and eventually disappeared, the mysterious doors opened and a cloaked figure strode out. Their cloak shone bright like the sun, golden and warm yet full of destructive power. Tan hands reached out and tugged down the hood, revealing a youthful face, yet orange topaz colored eyes that spoke of their true age. A smile stretched across their features, a brilliant standout among the decaying hallway.

"What an interesting branch that fate has added to its tree. It would be nice to stay around and see it bear fruit, but I have more pressing matters to attend to." The melodious tone of the voice that had come behind the door spoke with child-like teasing, although there was no one around to tease.

"I wonder, why is it that one displaced person has smoothed out wrinkles but another has caused complete tears? It truly is a pity. A child of fate has become a pawn. Yet they have no one to blame but their own selfish desires. Perhaps," the smile of the tanned figure turned mischievous. "I should mess around a bit?"

In a burst of golden feathers, the figure disappeared along with the hallway.

As if they had never existed at all.

[ HEY! Guess who's alive! I am! Yay! And I got an update! This isn't the feels update yet but it's coming! And it'll hit hard! Hopefully! ]

[ Anyway, I just wanna thank everyone for reading VRP and I hope you're staying and safe indoors! Speaking of you guys, I just wanna give a shoutout to one of my readers, OceanBolts, who I actually got into contact with recently! It was so awesome to chat with you! I was like, dying the whole time because I got so emotional. Speaking of which, I got Discord recently so... That might be a thing at some point. ]

[ Psst. By the way, our next chapter is gonna feature our good pink boy. Who I made in picrew. Other characters coming in picrew form soon. Here. ]