I think this should clear up a lot of things, well, at least some things. Enjoy, and remember, comments, speculation and crititisim PLEASE!
Chapter Six: Unknown Knowledge
“Did you sleep well?” Asked Caleb. He was at Kelsi’s door, the sun from the open window catching the golden stands in his sandy hair.
“Yes, thank you,” Kelsi replied.
“I’m sorry to disturb you but Mistress sent me here to retrieve you.”
Kelsi sighed. She was always being retrieved. It was as if she were a book and not a person. “That’s fine. Let me just find a pair of shoes,” a pair of silver slippers very similar to the golden shoes she had worn yesterday were next to her bed. “Well, I’m ready to go,” she closed the door behind her.
As before, Caleb led her though the confusing corridors, except this time the pathway was different.
“I never really thanked you for showing me the gardens last night. They were superb,” Kelsi smiled, trying to catch his eye.
“It was my pleasure.”
Kelsi frowned. There was something wrong, she could tell. Caleb wouldn’t look at her, his eyes brimming with a mixture of pain, hate and fear.
What have I done? Kelsi racked her brains, trying to remember if she did anything completely unforgivable. Something caught her eye. Caleb was wearing gloves with amazing leatherwork in the soft black leather. He hadn’t worn them yesterday. She looked closer. It was hard to tell but she thought she could see bandages in between the cuff of his blue long sleeved tunic and the gloves.
Catching a hold of his arm, she pulled up the linen sleeve of his shirt. He tried to pull away but wasn’t fast enough. Kelsi gasped. She had been right, there was a bandage, a snowy white bandage dotted with blood.
“Please, don’t ask,” his voice was desperate. He pulled down his sleeve, covering the bandages that wound up his arm from his palm.
Kelsi stopped the words that were on the tip of her tongue. What happened? And where do I fit into all of this?
Caleb knocked on one of the doors, standing as straight as a pole as he waited for them to open.
Why won’t he just speak in his weird language? The pleasant yet mysterious life she thought she might have was shattered. Now everything seemed downright confusing and a more than a little sinister. The glimpse of the darkness that she had seen last night when Caleb said that his life was in danger, was slowly becoming a full fledged view.
Mistress finally opened the door. “Kelsi, so good to see you,” she welcomed, her smile as frigid as the first frost. “Caleb, you may leave. This way, Kelsi.”
It was a different room than the room Kelsi had met Mistress in the day before. Though it still was filled of the finest materials it wasn’t as extravagant as the other room; this room had a purpose. A gold gilt chalkboard that was covered with strange symbols was on the wall next to diagrams made out of thick parchment. The diagrams had pictures of ferocious looking animals, some recognizable from fairy tales, others unknown to her. A sturdy desk was in the middle of the room facing the chalkboard. Various parchments, quills, scrolls, inks and dusty, thick books lay on the mahogany desk.
“Wha . . .” Kelsi began but was quickly cut off by Mistress.
“I shall explain later. Follow me, breakfast is waiting in the other room,” she walked briskly towards a door and opened it. It led out to a sort of glass enclosed porch. Outside was a part of the garden that Kelsi hadn’t seen last night. Golden buttercups were liberally mixed in with the green lawn and a gorgeous lilac bush that matched Kelsi’s dress was planted near one of the windows, partially obscuring the view. Kelsi inhaled. The smell of the lilac was almost intoxicating.
“Take a seat,” Mistress was already sitting, unfolding her napkin and putting it in her lap. “Fresh fruit?” She served Kelsi an interesting array of fruits. “I’m sure you’ll find your fruit delightful. All crops you eat here are grown on this estate. You should find that the fruit is slightly different than your Nesserum varieties.”
Kelsi bit into an apple slice tentatively, then slowly chewed, rolling it across her tongue to taste it better. For the most part it tasted like an apple, only the flavor was more intense. She took a bite of a strawberry. Like the apple the flavor was bursting, exciting, bold. As she sampled the other fruits she found the case to be true with all of them.
“It tastes better,” Kelsi quietly said. “It’s as if the flavor has been amplified.”
“You will find that the case here.”
“Is it always the case?” Kelsi questioned, feeling confident that this was at least one question that would be answered, unlike many of the questions she had asked before.
“It is very rare when it is not,” Mistress began to nibble a bit of toast then cracked a hard boiled egg with her spoon. “Have some toast or an egg.”
Kelsi obeyed. She dipped her knife in a pot of what appeared to be raspberry jelly and spread in on her toast. She took a bite and smiled. Raspberry jelly was her favorite. Following Mistress’s example she took a hard boiled egg and cracked it. Sprinkling salt and pepper on it, she took a bite, enjoying it every bit as much as the toast.
Mistress put her napkin down on her plate and stood up. “Let us go into the other room,” her voice was very businesslike as was her facial expressions.
Kelsi stood up and followed Mistress out of the glass porch and into the room she had seen before.
“Sit down,” Mistress pointed to the desk and Kelsi sat down obediently. “Now I shall answer some of those questions you have been asking. I shall start by telling you who you really are.
“Your name is Kelsi Uialiin, a native of Crisinae, one of the three sister planets. Your parents are Renee and Austin, peasants, low class,” she said the words with disgust. “I have traced your mother’s line and your great-great-great-great-grandmother was a lesser princess. That’s what makes you so unique, that’s why you are here.”
Kelsi tried to follow what Mistress was explaining but became very lost. “What are you saying?”
“Haven’t you wondered how you got here? You owe it all to your great-great-great-great-grandmother Silyvia. Though it is a wonder that you could do it, Elise Slme was a royal with only one percent common blood in her veins and she had was a sister to the queen but she couldn’t make it across the bridge,” Mistress studied one of her cuticles, as if the task of telling Kelsi about her heritage was extremely boring instead of extremely confusing.
“What do you mean?” Kelsi finally snapped and lost her temper completely. She stood up from the desk and accidently knocked off some books and a bottle of crimson ink that shattered and drenched the carpet, books, and the hemline of her dress. “You’re not making any sense!”
Mistress chuckled. “So you do have anger. I was beginning to wonder. So far all I’ve seen is a mess of confusion, frustration, sadness and happiness. It’s good to know that there is anger somewhere inside you. We will need to use that later. You may go now,” she turned to some paper work, busying herself before Kelsi even left.
“No! I won’t!” All the emotions inside of her had burst. Part of her felt exhilarated as she screamed, as she let everything out. “I’m tired of all these little facts that don’t fit together! I want to actually know what’s going on! I won’t leave until I get real answers!” In her adrenaline rush she didn’t care what Mistress did to her as punishment, Kelsi was no longer afraid of her. She felt a power course through her, a power that made her feel invincible. Her hair began to fly out and a bottle of ink towards the right of her left hand began to shake, threatening to fall over though the room was as still as a crypt.
A look of pure joy and triumph flitted across Mistress’s face. Kelsi saw it and the look instantly stopped her anger. That look, it wasn’t good.
“I see you’ve stopped throwing that temper tantrum of yours,” Mistress was flipping through papers again.
Kelsi’s face flushed. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what overcame me.”
“Go to your room,” Mistress didn’t even look up.
“Yes, Mistress,” Kelsi walked out of the room, embarrassed and ashamed. All fear of Mistress’s puzzling look had evaporated and was replaced by humiliation.
Halfway down the hall Caleb joined her. “Let me guide you back to your room.”
“Okay,” Kelsi mumbled.
At the door of Kelsi’s room Caleb talked once more. “Please, don’t lose your temper, don’t get angry,” he earnestly whispered.
Kelsi looked away. “Okay.”
