And lately...I've been having freaky nightmares. I wake up either horny because I've had a sex dream about a faceless man or scared shitless because my world has been soaked in blood. At first, I thought it was because of the history and how sometimes I let my mind control me so much I can almost picture things like battles and wars from long ago. But now...I think it's the castle.
And I'm not the only one who has noticed something’s not right. Sofia asked me if I was having trouble sleeping today. I guess she can spot the circles under my eyes or something. Hell, she felt so bad for me that she went out of her way to draw me this bath. Everything in this place is...extra huge. Not just huge but ginormous. That includes the bathtub and shower. I've been showering for the most part but today Sofia asked if she could help me with my bath.
Not in the pervy way but...I think she's lonely. Or maybe sad that she has to stay here while her boss is off living life elsewhere. As soon as I walked in I was struck by how much work she must have done. Candles are lit along the walls and on almost every flat surface. And whatever she put in the water smells fucking delicious.
That's another thing about this place. I've noticed how fabulous it smells here, like...sandalwood and musk or something equally spicy and...manly. God, maybe I should take my own advice I was giving Sofia last night and leave this place so I can find someone for myself.
The day is so dark and it seems like it's been raining and storming for hours. Maybe that is what is affecting my mood. Maybe what's bothering me is the fact I can't reach Jossie no matter how many messages and calls I leave her. I'm really starting to worry.
Or maybe I'm just thrown off because Sofia had to help me into the tub. It was slightly embarrassing that the first person to see me naked since I was a baby was an older woman who hasn't seen any sign of humanity in months. There really was no other way to safely step in the tub without her help though. I can see how easy it would be to slip in a tub like this and break your neck.
I think back to how awkward it was having someone help me in the bath.
"You...you’re used to doing this?" I think about her doing it for her boss and a stab of anger rises inside of me for some reason.
"Oh, well I used to do it way back in the day before the Master left." So she did help her 'Master'. I wonder if they had a thing at one time and that is why he left. "Then there were so many people coming to the castle, wearing their big fancy dresses and crowns and the carriages."
"Excuse me?" Did she just say...carriages? And crowns?
"I said I would pretend when my grandmother would tell me stories from her grandmother's day about crowns and carriages during the parties."
I nod but find it so odd. "So your family has been with...," I don't know the name of the man who lives here.
"Yes. Years and years actually." We talk some more before she bustles around and leaves.
I sink lower and start to wonder how the hell I'm going to get out. Will Sofia come back in periodically to check on me? Will she make sure I've not fallen asleep in here and drowned? How odd was our talk?
My eyes catch on the walls of the bathroom. The whole room looks like it should be in a natural setting -like a cave or grotto or...fairy den. The walls are made of rock, not well-worn rock either. Rocks that look like they could have been picked up by a giant and laid together. The ceiling in here is so high the light never really reaches the top. Which is a little scary, I won't lie.
Who knows what exactly is up there? How long has it been since anyone has cleaned the top or...pointed a light in that direction? Is it all an optical illusion and the ceiling isn't that far up after all?
I close my eyes and let the steam work the knots out of my neck and shoulders. They stay tense because I am more often than not looking down at some book or pouring over papers and notes. I sigh out how good this water is feeling as I soak on this chilly afternoon.
Then...I hear something. A slight whisper, a breath of a sound. Only...the more I listen the more it sounds like...my name being called.
I open my eyes and gasp out my surprise. It looks like hundreds of tiny little bioluminescent...somethings are lighting up the ceiling. It's...breathtaking and ...magical. It goes a long way to me thinking it's been a fuck of a long time since anyone has been up to that ceiling.
And then, as if this magical moment is turning into one of my nightmares, I spot what seems to be a moving shadow against the dark. Before I can make sense of all that I’m seeing, the shadow moves into the light of the bioluminescent glow so that I can make out...a face.
It's a giant ass bat! It has a flat nose and shiny eyes and I watch as its tongue comes out to lick across its lower jaw. I often find bats to be the cutest little things ever. But this bat has my blood running cold - no matter how warm the water is. This bat...looks like it might be five or six feet long with enormous wings wrapped around its body and long sharp claws reaching out.
I scream. I don't know what else to do. This is not normal! Bats should not be the size of grown-ass men! Ceilings shouldn't light up like they really are cave roofs! I keep screaming until I can make my body move to try to get out.
Before I can crawl over the side, Sofia is rushing into the room. "What is happening? What is going on?"
"I...bat...there's a bat on the ceiling!"
"A bat? In the house?!" she seems appalled that I would think there was a bat in the house. "Where?"
I point up at the now-dark ceiling. Sofia looks up as well. "Don't think I am trying to be...rude. But how can you see anything up there?"
"It...It was lit up." Sofia's eyebrows arch in surprise. "It had...things like glow worms up there. The ceiling was all lit up. I saw it...,"
Damn, I sound crazy even to myself and I'm the one that saw it.
"Maybe....you fell asleep? Drifted off because the bath relaxed you so much?"
"Maybe. Yes." I nod, agreeing with her. "I'd like to get out now."