Sitting at the dining hall table the following morning, I ate breakfast alone as I watched the falling rain patter against the four grand windows that lined one end of the hall. I hated to admit it, but the Dark Lord's absence was disappointing. I was eager to know whether the tea had worked, or if he'd drank it at all. I couldn't quite understand the reason behind my sudden need to impress the Dark Lord, but I guessed it had something to do with the desire to prove myself to him, to show him I wasn't as small as he thought I was. Although a cup of tea might not have been enough to fully prove myself to him, it was still something.
"Should someone check up on him?" A maid whispered from behind me, somewhere near the kitchen entrance. "He never sleeps in this late. Do you think he's alright?"
"Have you lost your marbles? You're beginning to sound like a Hufflepuff," Another maid replied in a hushed tone. "Merlin knows what he would do to someone who disrupts his sleep when he gets so little."
I smiled down at my food, having had my answer.
Suddenly, the dining hall doors were opened and I was surprised to see Grandfather walk in with a large smile on his face, "There she is, my lovely Karina."
"Grandfather!" I smiled, running towards him and embracing him in a hug. "What are you doing here?"
"Business with the Dark Lord. I'm afraid we haven't been able to track down those who wished to harm you yet."
I pulled out of the embrace to find that all the maids had scurried off. Perhaps they were instructed not to stick around during conversations, or perhaps they just feared Grandfather. However, I had a feeling they were listening closely behind the kitchen door. Maid's had a way of knowing everything that occurred inside a household, so I doubted they'd miss the opportunity of listening in on our conversation.
"Do you know how much longer it might take to find them?" I questioned.
Grandfather smiled knowingly, "Homesick already?"
"Very."
"Well, it's no wonder. You're eating all alone. Where is the Dark Lord?"
"Sleeping," I forced back a smile. That tea must have knocked him out like a pile of bricks.
"Sleeping? " Grandfather questioned, checking his pocket watch and shaking his head at the time. His eyes scanned the room and when he found no one of service, he sighed. "Hello?! Staff!"
There was shuffling and rummaging behind the kitchen door before a young man was forced out into the dining hall by the arms of some maids. The door shut behind him before he could run back inside and he stared at us with a frightened expression. I couldn't help but smile.
"Honestly..." Grandfather sighed. "Boy, go wake up your master. Tell him who's here and that there's urgent business to discuss."
"M-me? W-wake up the D-Dark Lord?" The boy stammered, trying his best to keep himself composed, but his fear was practically emanating through the room. Merlin, Grandfather wasn't that scary, was he?
Grandfather looked at me, "Was I not clear?"
"Oh, stop teasing him," I laughed. "Yes, that's right," I told the young man who quickly nodded and hurried out of the hall.
"The new ones are always entertaining," Grandfather said. "Now, dear Karina, I'm afraid I must leave you to discuss business."
"Wait, there's something I've been wanting to ask you, Grandfather."
Grandfather eyed me curiously. "Yes, what is it?"
"How did you know where to find me when the woman in the chestnut coat tried to attack me?"
With one finger, he gently tapped Grandmother's locket that rested safely against my chest. "I had it charmed to sense danger."
"It senses when I feel danger?" Of course, I should have thought of that. Still, had he not noticed the sense of danger I felt when the Dark Lord had me pinned down against the table with his wand to my neck?
"No, when you are in danger, not when you feel endangered," he clarified. Then, I wondered, had the Dark Lord no intention of actually hurting me that night? Was it all for show? To scare me into submission? "I had it charmed for your Grandmother for when I left home for weeks at a time, to know that she was safe. Now, I have someone else to look out for," Grandfather smiled warmly at me.
"Thank you," I embraced him in another hug before allowing him to leave.
Slowly, with a content smile on my face, I too left the dining hall and departed up the stairs towards my bedroom while gently playing with Grandmother's locket. Although they hadn't managed to find the people behind the attempted attack on me, I was glad I had the locket to keep me safe, to keep Grandfather informed of any imminent danger that threatened to harm me. Now, if the Dark Lord truly did want to cause me harm, I knew Grandfather would know about it and surely he wouldn't allow someone like that to marry me, his only granddaughter. Right? Truthfully, I wasn't too sure.
Sighing, I opened Grandmother's locket and froze in place at the sight of what lay hidden inside.
"A memory?"
~~~
I didn't have much time.
I didn't have much time at all.
Wandering the Dark Lord's estate in broad daylight, with my knowledge fully restored was dangerous, to say the least. Grandfather could only keep the Dark Lord busy with business affairs for so long. After that, there was no telling where he'd be, how close, or how far, and the possibility of him running into me with my restored memories was too great a risk. I had to hurry and find something that would aid me in finding more information about this M, anything.
Growing impatient, I began opening doors at random to see what was hiding behind them, but that did me little to no good. Although I had managed to locate the library and made the quick decision to visit it later, every other room was of no use to me. In fact, they were basically all empty. This wasn't going to work, I was wasting precious time. I had to be smarter.
"Is there something I can help you find, Miss?" Lucinda questioned from behind me. Surprised, I turned towards her to find her eyeing me curiously, probably having witnessed my opening and closing of the doors. Had she been following me all this time, I wondered.
"Just exploring, getting to know the estate. It's rather big and confusing," I smiled, which was true, the estate was all those things and I was exploring.
"Oh, I see, well there's nothing in this corridor of any use to anyone."
"No?"
"This part of the estate remains unfinished for now, just a few spare rooms and the second library."
"Second library?" Merlin, just how big was this place? To have a second library? Lucinda nodded with an enthusiastic smile, as if her one joy in life was discussing the topic of the Dark Lord's estate. Perhaps, her knowledge of the estate could potentially be of use to me in finding out more about M. However, I'd have to be careful about what I asked her and what I said, because there was no telling just how much information might make its way back to the Dark Lord.
"You'll have better luck in the East and West wing. I can take you there if you'd like," she offered.
"Oh, um, that's alright, I think it's best if I find my own way."
"Yes, very well, I'll be on my way then," she turned to leave, but then stopped in her tracks and turned to me suddenly. "Stay out of the third corridor of the West wing."
"What's in the third corridor of the West wing?" I questioned, genuinely intrigued.
"No one except the Master knows, but he has strictly forbidden anyone from entering it."
My curiosity only grew. "Is that where he sleeps?"
"Oh no, his room is in the same wing as yours, just down the hall in fact, so I'd be careful about opening certain doors at the wrong time."
The knowledge of him being so close to me while I schemed in my room made my stomach churn with uneasiness. "Alright, thank you, Lucinda. That will be all."
Lucinda smiled and gave a quick bow of her head before making her way down the corridor and disappearing behind the corner. If the Dark Lord was hiding something, or someone, a forbidden corridor would be the best place to do it. I'd have to pay that corridor a visit soon, I decided. After all, he hadn't forbidden me from entering it. I'd just had to wait for the right time.
Deciding that my time with my memories was up, I hurried back to my room to obliviate my knowledge of M once again. However, I left in the conversation with Lucinda, just without the knowledge of M. I still wasn't too sure just how much of our conversations she would keep to herself, so I decided it would be best to keep as much of them as possible to prevent raising any suspicion.
After extracting all the knowledge I had gathered and placing it safely into Grandmother's locket, I closed my eyes and sighed, "Obliviate."
~~~
I carefully sipped from my hot teacup as I grazed my fingertips along the spines of the countless dusty books that lined one of the many shelves of the grand library, all of them patiently waiting to be read. How one individual had managed to collect so many books of all different genres, of all different languages and from so many different places, I had no idea. It seemed as though all parts of the world resided in this library just waiting to be explored through words and imagination. It was incredible.
"So you've found the library," the Dark Lord said, walking towards one of the velvet, green armchairs by the fire with a teacup of his own.
"And the second one too," I informed, my eyes wandering up the spiraling ladder that led to another floor of the library and to thousands of other books.
"Ah, well, I've managed to outgrow this one."
My back was to him, but I could feel his eyes wandering up my body as I reached up high for a particular book spine that had managed to capture my interest. It was different from the rest due solely to the fact it was lined with bright pink embroidery, which was a strange sight to see as the amount of pink found in the Dark Lord's estate was slim to none. I stood on my tippytoes, reaching as high up as I possibly could, but still only managing to graze the very bottom of the book. God damn it all to being of average height!
That was when I felt him behind me, his chest brushing against my back as he reached over me and my outstretched arm to get the book down for me. My heart almost leaped out of my chest at the sudden gesture, not out of fear of closeness, but due to the fact it was indeed a kind gesture, something that seemed somewhat out of character for the Dark Lord. I watched him carefully as he brought the book down to inspect, his set deep in concentration as though recalling what the book was about. Then, meeting my eyes, he handed me the book.
"I didn't enjoy this one," he said as I tore my eyes away from his and down to the title of the book.
"The Dragon Princess," I read out loud, smiling at the thought of him, the Dark Lord, reading a children's book about a princess. "You've read this?"
"It was quite some time ago," he sighed with a nod, "but yes, I've read it. I've read all the books in my libraries."
"All of them? But there must be thousands." I had to prevent my jaw from hitting the lovely embroidered rug.
"Probably, I've lost count," he spoke nonchalantly as if his knowledge from reading all these books wasn't something to be impressed about. His eyes scanned the length of the library, "They are what keep me busy on restless nights."
Turning on his heel, he headed back towards the green armchairs and I felt inclined to follow him now that we'd started a conversation. He took a seat on the chair that was next to a small emerald table where he'd set his teacup down and went to retrieve it as I sat myself down on the armchair beside his. I found it somewhat strange that a man who spent so much time alone in his estate had two armchairs, side by side angled towards the fire.
"One didn't suit the room," he clarified. "It looked rather odd, so I decided on two."
My cheeks flamed in embarrassment. Merlin, I wished I knew when he was reading my thoughts so that I could at least attempt to filter them. Quickly, I changed the subject. "Did the tea from last night help at all?"
"Quite," he answered. "More than I expected it to."
"That's good," I figured I wasn't going to get a thank you so I just sipped from my tea. Glancing at him, he looked distressed, as if he was struggling to say something. Maybe I would get a thank you.
"Could you make me more this evening?" He finally said.
"Yes," I answered, hiding my smile behind my teacup as I took another sip. He nodded, avoiding my gaze and turning his eyes instead to the burning fire before us. If this was how living with the Dark Lord was going to be, then, I decided, it wasn't so bad.