Chapter Six

Proof

Calian

I jumped awake, spurred by the unfamiliar surroundings. After taking a few calming breaths, I remembered that I was in Gravitas Manor… in the kingdom of Cisluna… of my story…

I scratched the back of my head, feeling the underbuzz of my haircut tickle against my skin. Well, nothing more I can do about it now, but deal with it. With that rousing thought, I made my way over to the bathroom. Rinsing my face roughly, I glanced up at the oval mirror. It was framed with a golden swirled décor. It reminded me of an antique mirror my mom used to own.

Maybe there’s something in Mom’s bag that can help me. I thought just as I heard a nearby knock.

I poked my head out of the bathroom door before shouting, “Come in!”

To my surprise it wasn’t Bailey, but a much younger maid. She had short black hair and brown eyes. She was rather petite, and when she made eye contact with me, she blushed instantly. “Good morning, sir!” she nearly shrieked.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. I racked my brain for who this person was but came up short. “Good morning. Can I help you with something, Miss…?”

“J-jenna. Jenna Dupont. Apologies, sir. I—”

“You can call me, Calian.” I smiled, not recalling a Jenna Dupont in my story at all. I knew Nova had a limited staff, but the only one Mom ever mentioned was Bailey. Everyone else was just a background character that never came to light. I found myself immediately intrigued.

“A-alright, Mr. Calian.” She blinked at me in surprise. “I’ve come to deliver a fresh set of clothes.” Her eyes scanned my current outfit. Jenna’s mouth contorted strangely before she bit her bottom lip. A strangled sound came from her throat that she tried to cough it away. Clearly, my obviously oversized outfit was absolutely hilarious to the maid. Frankly, I couldn’t blame her. I knew I looked utterly ridiculous, but I was never one to shun forced hospitality.

“Any chance these might fit better?” I asked, approaching Jenna so I could directly grab the new clothes. I opened the folded button up, finding the results to be the same. I sighed. “Guess not.”

At that, Jenna let out a small giggle before mumbling. “Did Ms. Bailey raid Bazil’s closet?”

“Whose Bazil?” I wondered, laying the white shirt and tan pants with attached suspenders on my already made bed.

I could feel my face scrunch up as I tried to figure out if there was going to be even a chance that I could make this too large shirt appear even halfway decent on me.

“Oh, he’s the chef of the estate.” Jenna replied. “There are not many of us here in Gravitas Manor, but I assure you, Mr. Calian, while you are a guest here, you will not be lacking service.”

I smiled at the woman. I thought she was shy, but it was clear perhaps that wasn’t the case. In fact, she was rather prideful.

“I don’t doubt it.” I nodded. “But since I haven’t met everyone, would you mind telling me who else is in the home?”

Jenna looked at me—truly scrutinizing as if she was the lady of the house—but I must have passed whatever little nonverbal test she had for me because in the next moment she readily agreed. “Well, you already met Lady Nova and Ms. Bailey. Aside from myself and Bazil, there is also my brother, Jayson. He’s the butler here.”

“I see.” I nodded once more. “Well, I look forward to meeting you all. Nova is letting me stay here for a bit. I got caught in the blizzard and she has been generous enough to allow me in her home.”

“Lady Nova is quite generous!” Jenna’s eyes lit up with admiration. “She’s lovely to work for. I make all her clothes!” the maid spoke proudly, her head held high. Then, as if a thought dawned on her, she announced, “I’m supposed to be going into town this afternoon. Perhaps, I can pick up some fabric and make you clothes as well!” then, as if it was a secret, she put her hand to her face and whispered, “I’m a fast worker.”

“Oh, no…” I shook my head. “I can’t have you do that. I won’t be able to pay you for it.”

“It’s ok!” Jenna bounced on her toes, her eyes scanning my body again. “It won’t do for you to look so shabby in front of my lady. Besides, it will be nice to design clothes for another man beside my brother.” Before I could broker any argument, Jenna started walking towards the door. “I’ll be back in a bit to take your measurements, Mr. Calian.” And like a whirlwind, she exited the chamber.

“Alright then…” I murmured to myself, amused as I quickly changed into the fresh set of clothing provided for me. I stuffed the shirt into the trousers as well as I could, but still a lot of the shirt overflowed out of my waistband. Thankfully, the suspenders would at least keep my pants up.  “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to get to know the staff.” I thought aloud.

They could probably fill in some of these blanks for me… maybe. Speaking of, I grabbed Mom’s satchel and spilled its contents out on the table next to the map I borrowed from Nova. Out splattered my laptop charger and sketchpad, a pencil, Mom’s journal, some herbs carefully wrapped up with string, those strange copper coins, two candles, a box of matches, and the envelope with Mom’s letter. Just for good measure, I gave the bag one more hard tug up and down and out rolled a small black gem of some kind.

I quickly grabbed it before it could roll off the table. I rubbed the smooth surface, brows pulled together tightly. What the hell is this? I wondered, looking inside the empty satchel before staring at the gem again. I couldn’t recall Mom ever showing it to me. It must have gotten stuck inside a side pocket in the bag because I didn’t notice it during my first round of examinations in Oakheart.

But if Mom kept it, it must mean something to her. I let out a breath before placing it securely back inside one of the side pockets. I would have to deal with one mystery at a time at this rate. Refocusing, I decluttered the table, putting away my laptop charger and sketchpad first. I did not want to have to explain what the hell a charger is in a world with no computers, and my sketchpad… well…

Flashes of all the drawings of Nova I created went through my brain. I cleared my throat, a bit flustered. Yeah, if Nova sees that, she’s going to think I’m stalking her. Suddenly, an image of the way she looked, bored and beautiful, as she was calculating her finances last night had me itching to draw. However, I resisted the urge, instead, placing the herbs in the satchel. All that was left on the table was four copper coins with a crown that reminded me of an ornamental puffy hat, Mom’s journal and the letter.

Just as I was to open the letter again, Jenna knocked on the doorframe and said, “I’m back for your measurements, Mr. Calian!” her exuberance was adorable. It didn’t take a genius to see that she really enjoyed making garments. “If you would step over this way, please.”

I moved away from the table, following her directions as she gave them. Jenna was swift, keeping track of measurements and jotting them down on a little notepad before moving on to the next. Her enthusiasm melted away into concentration as she went on with the task.

“Mr. Calian, just so you know, breakfast will be ready in about twenty minutes.” Jenna stated.

I glanced over at the coins on my table. “Thank you.” I paused, “Hey, Jenna, do you think that will cover the cost of a new outfit?” I pointed to the coins.

Jenna glanced over before she smiled. “Oh, no. You only have four lunas. Definitely not enough, but as I said, please do not worry about it, I already got permission from Lady Nova to get what we need for your new attire.”

My eyebrows raised in surprise. “Oh… ok then.”

Is four lunas the equivalent to four dollars? I wondered, but it’s not like anyone here could confirm that.

Before Jenna exited again, I stopped her. “By the way, you said something about going into town. Do you mind if I tag along? I’m not from around here and I’d like to take a look around.”

“That is not a problem. I’ll let you know when we depart for the town.” Jenna grinned, making her look younger than she probably was. “Don’t forget, breakfast will be ready in fifteen more minutes. Please be sure to make your way to the dining room then.”

“Will do.” I agreed, closing the door behind her and making my way back to the desk.

I sat in the wooden chair and reached for Mom’s letter once more. I opened the second page, recalling the map of Wanderers’ Woods.

Wanderers’ Woods… A pang of guilt overcame me. It suddenly occurred to me that I left Mom’s remains in my duffle bag in the cabin. I didn’t even have the forethought to place her on the table.

“I’m so sorry, Mom.” I whispered. With everything that’s happened, it didn’t even occur to me that I left her behind like that. And now, surrounded by all her stuff, I had to wonder what was her aim in sending me there? Did she know this would happen? Or was this all just… happenstance?

Either way, I utilized my guilt to get back to the task at hand. Although, I haven’t the foggiest reason why I should look at a map of Wanderers’ Woods when I wasn’t anywhere near the vicinity. Maybe I’m just still in disbelief that I could be anywhere but back home. But when I opened the paper, it was no longer the map I followed to get to Mom’s cabin. Now, it was a map of Cisluna. Gravitas Manor was specifically marked in Mom’s neat handwriting. It was a small house near the bottom right corner of the map. There were other markings on the map too. A few caught my attention: Amber Hill (which seemed to be the town closest to Nova’s home), Goldcrest City (which was practically in the middle of the map), the Abyssal Sea (to the far left), and lastly, a small black dot labeled Candor.

Puzzled, I unrolled Nova’s map and found it to be practically identical. The main difference being that that was no Candor, and instead of Mom’s cursive handwriting, there was impeccable printing, and a pair of initials in the bottom left corner marked: NLG.

I smiled and whispered, “Nova Laurant Grimaldi.”

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, she is good at anything she tries. Why shouldn’t mapmaking be on the list?

My eyes darted between the two maps. Is this proof? Am I really inside the world of my story or have a finally just lost it from grief? I questioned my sanity, but still, something in me said this was real. That I wasn’t having a massive hallucination. If this is truly my story, why don’t I remember a blizzard scene? Why am I not stuck in the moment I had writer’s block? Which involved a stressed-out Nova and imprisonment by the hands of her parents. I recalled the way she nearly stabbed me twice in the last twelve hours.

My head turned to the nightstand where I left the stained handkerchief from last night. The second I came back, I tried to clean it in the sink, letting it air dry beside me on the bed. Still, I couldn’t quite get all the blood out. So now, it had permanent pale red spots on it.

Is she sterner than I wrote her? Colder, maybe? But then, I thought about the fact that she let me, a total stranger, stay at her estate. Not to mention, how she didn’t immediately kill me for trespassing.

My attention swiveled back to the maps. Suddenly, Candor was in a different spot. Where it used to be next to a river, it was now marked near the mountains.

“The hell?” I blinked several times. For a moment, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I know I saw Candor in a different spot.

I glanced over at my mom’s journal, but before I could reach for it, I smelled the delicious aroma of bacon, and my stomach growled ferociously. It suddenly occurred to me that I hadn’t eaten properly in a few days. And apparently my belly was out for vengeance.

“First thing’s first.” I decided, putting the rest of Mom’s things back in her bag, and hiding it deep under the bed before leaving the room.