Less Than Ideal, Though Far Better

The light was an improvement.

Of course, from Lorelei's view, lights were always an improvement. That opinion did not only apply to her current situation. As someone with a, as she referred to it, high caution against the dark, Lorelei often strayed to light. The dark reminded her too much of forests. Lorelei did not enjoy forests.

The fact that she had woken up in this appalling room tonight suggested that this arrangement may be more permanent than she had assumed. Looking around, she noticed that the room was far more organized than she had left it previously. The suitcase she had tripped over in her search for light was put back in an orderly fashion, with the clothes she had flung out in rage back in their spots. There was no ribbon to cast away, though the vanity now looked far more appealing. Perhaps the maids had cleaned the area.

Walking over to the vanity, Lorelei was frozen in confusion at what she saw. In the middle portion, Lorelei saw what appeared to be art equipment. On the left and right were some odd boxes. Many of them had bright colors, though one open box appeared to hold cards within. Neither of these things were what baffled Lorelei.

What confounded her was the platter that accompanied the other items. On it, Lorelei saw an odd assortment of what she could only assume was food. In one area, she saw celery, of all things, with an odd filling within. Atop that filling were little shriveled dots. Nearby was a bowl with an assortment of nuts and brown hearts with two lines in each, thus splitting up the hearts in three abstract shapes. Thankfully, there were cookies that Lorelei could recognize. It was better to eat those until she felt ready to try the new oddities.

A sudden sound from the strange box captured Lorelei's attention. The box seemed louder than it had been, with different images flashing across its face, once again. Intrigued, Lorelei watched the face flash. Though she was not sure just how long she stayed there, the cookies were long gone by the time she finally turned away. Had the box cast some sort of spell on her? Was that a thing here? Where even was here?

Last eve, after her clothes-destroying fit, Lorelei had tried to gain insight on her location. Unfortunately, she had decided that remaining in the room was likely the safest option. Today, she decided to employ the same strategy. Perhaps she would try to explore tomorrow.

Returning to the vanity, Lorelei took another peek at the person in the vanity's mirror. The lady had deep raven hair with a dazzling pair of hazel eyes. To Lorelei, the woman was quite beautiful, though still very foreign to her. Everything was foreign to her.

Searching around, Lorelei still could not find a bell to summon the staff. She was beginning to think that there was no staff to call. Did that mean she was in the home of a commoner? Truly, that was a long way to fall for a noble such as herself. Without maids, Lorelei was not sure she could effectively navigate her situation.

Sitting back down on the strange bed, Lorelei went back to watching the moving box. If nothing else, it at least gave her something to do. Tomorrow, she would focus on discovery. She would leave the room, even if it may not be safe. Yes, tomorrow will be the time she takes action. Tonight, however, Lorelei was perfectly fine watching the people in the box.

Count Jason Terrtrove was a curious man. In his youth, he was considered a troublemaker, often wreaking havoc in the spirit of fun. These days, he was often too busy for such things. If he had not married Lorelei Astair, perhaps he would exercise more of that wild side of his. Unfortunately, Lorelei no longer enjoyed the spontaneous play that Jason and she had loved as children. Perhaps Jason would try rekindling that spark someday.

On this eve, Jason found himself in his office doing work. He was often there. So much so, in fact, that the pale brown walls felt more like home to him, and the deep brown wood of his desk felt far more comforting to him. Picking up his quill, Jason was about to gather more ink on it when Sara, one of Lorelei's maids, walked through the door.

Sara was one of his favorites among Lorelei's staff. Unlike the others, Sara never showed fear when Lorelei lost her temper, which was unfortunately quite often. Sara seemed to understand that Lorelei often never meant it. She was also one of the few people who knew what Lorelei did to atone after such outbursts.

This evening, Sara seemed distressed, which immediately concerned Jason. In all her years serving, Jason had never witnessed her properly shaken. “What is the issue,” he asked her, straightening up in his chair.

“The lady had been acting strangely,” Sara replied.

“Explain.”

“It began yesterday eve,” Sara began. “The lady summoned me not too long after she had dismissed me for her sleep. After arriving, she began to get impatient with me.”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “How exactly is this new?”

“My lord,” Sara said. “That portion is not the odd part. What confused me was what she asked me. Under the guise of ensuring that I was paying attention, she asked me who she was, who I was, and even about who you were, my lord.” That was odd.

“After hearing this, I decided to question her,” Sara continued. “In my description of you, I told her that your family was known for their wood carving. She accepted my answer as fact.” Sara looked up, sharp intelligence glinting in her eyes. “As I understand it, Lady Lorelei does not know that you partake in such a hobby, nor is your family known for it.”

This was very puzzling information. Even so, Jason still had one question. “Why did you wait until this eve to tell me?”

“I wished to gather more data,” Sara responded. “The next morning, Lady Lorelei appeared to be back to her usual self. This evening, she was back to acting strange. So strange, in fact, that she ordered lemon desserts to be brought to her room.” If there was one thing Jason knew about his wife, it was that Lorelei hated anything with lemons.

Still sitting in his chair, Jason considered his options. While he could write this off as Lorelei trying new things, he also knew that Sara's intuition was often correct. While he could send Doris, his aid, to investigate, this was his wife they were speaking of. It was better to look into this personally.

Rising up from his chair, he straightened himself. “Lead the way,” he told Sara.