Chapter 8: Chapter Seven
Every typical story has a knight in shining armor that saves a princess in distress or a prince charming that brings life back to his princess but in my case, a woman. I just got rescued by a woman whom I thought did it just to save me but apparently, she did it because she wanted me. I stood there gawping at this lady who seriously wanted to go with me.
"Get in the carriage, Princess." She said and her initial frowny face turned smiley as she got into her carriage and held her hand out for me. "Come on, I'll help you get in." She added.
Her carriage was no doubt a luxurious one drawn by two horses and was decorated very beautifully. It was a four-wheeled carriage with a driver's seat high in front, two double seats inside facing each other, and a folding top over the back seat. I got into the carriage and sat opposite the lady. Her rider rode us in the carriage.
She smiled, "don't be worried, I promised to be nice." She said.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"Someone who loves you." She replied with a smirk.
Throughout the rest of the journey, we traveled in silence. Soon we got to a very huge manor that looked like a palace. If that was her residence, she definitely lives in a castle. Is she a princess? Her castle was a big one that had a fish pond, an orchard with healthy fruits growing, a vineyard, and a garden that embedded very beautiful flowers that gave off an enchanting scent.
"Is... this your home?" I asked her.
"Mhmm." She nodded in agreement then got off the carriage and gave me a hand to get out.
"Come back tomorrow, I'd love to show my guest around. She seems new here." The lady instructed her rider.
"Okay, my lady." He responded before he left.
"Come on miss, let's go in." She said and held my hand. This smiley and chatty lady was different from the one I met back at the auction. The lady at the auction was all mean and frowny but now she is all smiley and chatty.
I followed her inside her castle and it was an actual paradise. We, first of all, got into a magnificent hall with pillars made out of a diamond that shined bright. The hall had a rectangular shape which it's length was twice the size of its width which entered through a screens passage at one end, and had windows on one of the long sides, which included a large bay window. There was also a minstrel gallery above the screen passage. At the other end of the hall was a dais where a top table was situated.
"Welcome to my home." She said. "Please, the guest room lies beyond the dais end of the hall. Freshen up, find something to wear, and come over for dinner. I'll get it ready." She said and walked away.
I slowly walked into the room which looked even more beautiful than the main castle itself but smaller than the hall. In it were a huge black gothic wardrobe and a wooden dresser standing right next to it, a gothic double bed with an elephant flowery red duvet, a black gothic nightstand, a gothic dramatic bookshelf, and a small sepia rug in the middle of the room. There were also house plants at the four corners of the room, a huge landscape painting hanging on the wall above the bed, decorative tapestries, and a fireplace. On top of the nightstand sat a fishbowl with a little pet fish in it. That room was a room of comfort and status and nobody in Damitro ever had that kind of luxury. I wondered if my mother's castle looked like that as well.
I dropped my small travel bag on the nightstand and sat carefully on the bed which was soft and bouncy. I smiled as I noticed a smaller door at one corner of the room and when I opened it, it was a huge bathroom with a marble flooring, a patterned wallpaper, a shower curtain that covered up a wooden bathtub filled with scented-rose water, a fancy miniature soap bar with soap dish and a deluxe set of color-coordinated towels and towel heater. There was also a Garderobe built into the outer wall.
I soaked myself in the bathtub as I already needed a bath after I took off my clothes, to ease off the soreness from a long travel. After my cold bath, I opened up the wardrobe to source for clothes to put on but all the dresses there were royal gowns that looked like I would never be able to afford so I just took one of my clothes out and put them on before I left to meet her at the dinner table.
The dining hall was just after the parlor and the lady was already seated at the end of the long table, waiting for me. The hall was extravagantly decorated and had a chandelier hanging right above the table.
"Please sit." She said before I took a seat opposite her. "I didn't get your name earlier." She said indirectly asking what my name was.
"I didn't get yours either." I responded.
She smiled and pinched the bridge of her nose before she spoke "You moved into my private room and not the guest room." She said.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'll get my things out of there as soon as possible." I apologized getting up from my seat to leave but she held me back.
"It's okay, you can stay there the night." She said.
"Thank you. You're very kind." I mumbled.
"Luciana." She said and when I stared at her unknowingly, she added "that's my name."
"Karen. My name is Karen." I said to her.
"Karen. You're quite a tough one, Karen." She said and chuckled.
"Do you live alone?" I asked as I've wondered the whole time.
Initially when we got to the Manor, I expected to see a King and Queen living in that huge Castle but none was there.
"Yes I do." she briefly responded.
"No servants? No family members? No friends?" I asked further as I noticed the absence of maids or guards in that very huge castle.
"None. I prefer my privacy." She responded.
"Are you a lady? A princess? A duchess? A consort? an Earl's wife or a King's concubine?" I asked perhaps about her wealth.
"None of that Karen." she responded.
Various thoughts swarmed in my head at that point but I rather chose to swallow my words so not to get on her bad side.
"If I may ask, how did those bandits get you? What were you doing in a forest alone?" She asked me.
"Ahm... Eh... I was traveling and so I got lost."
"Traveling to where?"
"No destination." I responded and she looked at me suspiciously.
"Shall we eat now?" Luciana said as she raised her cup and sipped her wine.
I sat down there, inspecting the food she had on the table. they were a lot but all looked tasty.
"You've barely eaten your food. Please have enough food and wine, I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight." She said as she touched my hand gently before she left me alone.
I hungrily devoured every food on the table and drank up her expensive wine before I went back to my comfortable room to catch a nice sleep. I know this deviated from my journey but I think resting here is better than resting in the woods.
I was fast asleep when I heard my door creak open and when I opened my eyes, I saw someone standing at the door with a sword...
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone