For the first time—since the small city they had found Aliza in—Linnie had his own room. And it wasn't just any room, either.
'Twas a massive 'guest' room, one that made Linnie wonder what one of the main bedrooms could've possibly looked like.
Ah, the glory! Ah, the luxury! Ah, the good life!
This would also be Lady's quarters, to her not-so-displeasure. Perhaps she was meant to be a house cat?
The butler had warned Linnie against letting his cat roam, and to only let her leave the room when they were leaving the manor. He didn't care to explain why, but the boy accepted it.
Linnie belly-flopped into the cloud of blankets and padding, rolling around in this bed larger than any he'd ever seen. Lady jumped from his arms and crawled atop the mound of pillows, carving a place for her to rest.
'Is everything here just super huge!?'
It was amazing—the bed, and everything else—indeed. But Linnie's mood quickly soured when he realized that he would not be able to enjoy the most certainly exquisite sleep that it would bring.
He was then reminded of his oppressive fatigue, and yawned. He wanted so badly just to close his eyes and disappear into the dream world. But that wouldn't happen.
Then, he heard a not-so-soft knocking on his door.
"Hey? You're not asleep, are you?"
It was Liora.
Linnie dramatically rolled off the bed, slamming into the floor with a thud. He pulled himself up from the ground and walked over to the distant door, grabbing the ornate handle and swinging it open.
"You're awake!"
"What is it?" he asked.
"Oh, well, I just wanted to explore. Wanna come with?"
He narrowed his eyes, looking back at the relaxing comfort of his room. Lady was already asleep... but it wasn't like he could join her and take a nap, anyway.
And he wasn't not curious to see what the large estate had for them to discover.
"Fine, but only because I don't want you getting us in trouble. Tch."
They began to explore the expansive building, occasionally getting turned around in a loop. They only came across a few passing servants, rushing to do whatever job they had on the other end of the estate.
When they finally found their way back to the grand entrance they had entered from, though, they spotted a familiar woman excitedly looking back and forth as she pulled open the giant double doors.
"Aliza? Hey! What're you doing?" Liora called out, her voice echoing in the hall.
"Huh? Oh, what's up, guys? I was just... stepping out for a bit."
"Where are you going? Can we come?" the girl asked.
"Nope! Just stay here, I'm sure you two can find something to do."
She smiled dismissively and turned back to the door.
"Please? Pleaaassee? Don't leave us!" the girl pleaded.
'I think I know what's happening here...' Linnie thought, shaking his head.
"I said no, alright? I'm going out to a bar and getting wasted! It's no place for kids like you guys."
"'Kids?' I'm fifteen! I'm almost marrying age! Not like I wanna be married, teehee... it's way too soon for that!" Liora trailed off, clasping her hands. She nearly forgot what she was talking about. "Wait! Why're you getting 'wasted' anyway? What's so fun about drinking?"
"See? You're a kid. You'll understand when you're older. Seeya!"
She darted out of the door, letting it swing shut behind her.
"Aw... I didn't know Aliza had that side to her. A drunk—a miserable drunk hag," Liora said with a dramatic sadness thick in her voice.
"Whatever. You're right. Drinking's not fun at all," Linnie reassured her.
'That's a complete lie! I love drinking! Though, Alwyn won't allow me... damn him!'
He opened his mouth to speak again, saying:
"Forget it, let's just keep... exploring. I hope we can find the kitchen. I'm starving! Alwyn never even bought us food like he said he would."
"Oh, uh, actually, I'm gonna go find the bathroom. I'll catch up with you!" Liora said, running off in a random direction.
'The hell? She's ditching me!? Wait, I'm pretty sure I saw the bathroom down that other hall, though?'
Surprised by the girl's sudden... urge, Linnie shrugged and continued on.
He really couldn't keep his mouth from opening in awe. While he wasn't the type to appreciate such things as fine art, the manor was truly too impressive to ignore.
It wasn't long before he found himself inside a large room with no apparent purpose. It was at the end of the long hallway he had been walking through, and the door had been slightly cracked, pouring warm light into the largely dim dead end.
For some reason, the windows and walls of that hall were completely covered up, so the leaking light was almost welcoming.
The hall wasn't exactly scary or anything, just a little unnerving to walk through.
The room, however, had more windows than wall. It was as if Linnie had found himself in a glass box.
Situated in the middle of the room were two elegantly carved and padded settees. In the middle was a small table, most likely for having tea.
Not that Linnie was familiar of any such practice.
A red rug sprawled out in the middle of the room, the same color as the trailing cloth that ran throughout the entire manor. At the other end of the room were two more doors, both closed.
Overall, it was largely empty, save for the three pieces of furniture and a couple paintings here and there. Linnie had yet to see a room that was so completely useless.
'A waste of space... awesome!'
And it was incredible. Only the wealthy could afford to use space so haphazardly.
He sat on one of the settees. To be honest, he'd expected it to be a little more comfortable, considering the generous cushioning. It felt like just like any other wooden chair.
Still, he fell onto his back, kicking his legs to the end as if it were a small bed. He decided to rest there until Liora came. Surely she'd follow the same path as he did—there weren't many others that weren't blocked by locked doors unless she turned in the complete opposite direction.
Linnie perked up, hearing footsteps approaching him.
'Took her long enough... seriously, how long does it take to use the bathroom? But why do I hear the footsteps behind me? Wouldn't she be coming from—"
Sitting up, he turned around to face the source of the sound. Surprised by what he saw, he squinted his eyes and puckered his lips.
"You're not Liora."