To Sell a Bleeding Heart

Chapter 3: Meeting Bianca

Rays of sunlight streamed through the slight parting of the long, heavy columns of blue that were the velvet curtains, shining warmly upon the lady resting on the silk bed. Nestled comfortably amidst intricately embroidered quilts and pillows, she slept on peacefully, undisturbed by any soul, that is till the light grew stronger in intensity, creeping further along the floors of the room like rising tides of brightness, so the room in time was illuminated fully in gold, a warm bath of light. 

"n...ngh....h..." The lady began to stir, as consciousness crept between her and her deep dream-like state.  Her eyes slowly but surely opened, blinking occasionally to adjust her vision to the blinding rays. Placing her right hand upon her forehead, she tried to make sense of her current surroundings. She could feel the moist fabric at the back of her neck; and then her presence of mind sharpened, such that she felt and knew that the heaviness and stickiness had accumulated on her skin everywhere- she had been on this bed for a very long time. Wiping off the glistening layers of sweat upon her skin, she tried to sit up.

For a moment, nausea and the feeling of suffocation overwhelmed her senses and distorted her vision. She had to massage her temples with her two hands to ease the dull pain that throbbing through her entire head. Her body too- she felt as if her digestive system had been stuffed with dry cotton, bringing on an incessant bout of coughing and wheezing. It didn't make sense. She just couldn't put her finger on it. What ailment was she suffering from, what caused it? Most importantly, what happened to her?

'tap..tap..tap..tap' She started to hear the sounds of two sets of footsteps approaching, becoming louder and louder. One set of footsteps sounded rhythmically, at regular intervals- a gallant stride which gave her an impression of an upperclass man's approaching; and a well controlled one at that. She then quickly switched focus to the sounds of the other set of footsteps. Its tempo was irregular, sometimes fast, and sometimes slow. Childish whines and shouts rang out from beyond the room that she was in which led to the conclusion that an adult male figure and a much younger, immature child were heading her way. Unable to decide on how to face the situation, she laid back on the bed and pretended to be sound asleep.

True enough, the door to her room opened with a slow, draining creak followed the light, irregular footsteps coming to her bedside. She could sense a small child; a girl; standing next to her even with her eyes closed. "What in the world is going on" she thought.

The child stood there for a moment before turning back to whoever that was behind her.

"Why did you tell my Uncle? Now he's going to put me under house arrest till I'm 90!" The small child spoke.

"Your Uncle, my master, has every right to know what you've been up to, little lady. Furthermore, I cannot hide a body for three whole days can I?" The much more older man replied back.

"But it wasn't my fault, you startled me! I was just aiming for her buttocks! Please send her away, please?" She whined, trying to bargain her way out of her current punishment.

"Southern parts. Young lady, we do not say the vulgar B word here. Also, I am just a butler, little miss, you can't gain anything from bargaining with me. What did the Duke say? Until the lady before us is fully conscious and has recovered from your little mischief, we will not discuss this matter any further. Now come on, we have some scrubbing to do." The man dismissed the child's whining and sternly motioned her to not dilly dally any further.

'Who are they?' The lady wondered, trying to control her breathing to suit that of a person deep in slumber. Assuming that the two of them had left, she gave an inward sigh of relief. Those two did not give her a good vibe- it was possible that she was not welcome in the house where she lay. She decided that it would be better to let them believe that she was still resting in order to buy some time to plan for her escape from god knows where this was.