The Knight of Slaughtaverty

Chapter 5 - The Joys of ESP

It's official! I have discovered Heaven.

Not long after informing me that I'd lost an entire day of my life, Ransford was summoned away by Leopold, telling him that Alaric wanted to see him. Since the butler was kind enough to take my cup, I fled to my rooms, and when the first door temporarily belonging to me appeared on my right, I threw it open and charged inside. I have no idea what my plan was, but it doesn't matter because I forgot everything but my name when I stepped into Wonderland.

It is a small drawing room with a lovely fireplace of its own. At first, I was taken aback by the room's startling contrast to so many of the others I've seen so far. The entire place is glittering in gold, white and yellow. I've never been too fond of the Rococo art period, as it tended to be garish and frivolous, and the whimsical playfulness was often taken a tad too far. Though this room definitely falls in that category, it was done rather tastefully and is not too much of an eyesore. It is actually quite pleasing now that I'm used to it.

I find the atmosphere here relaxing and filled with light and life, but that is not why I am in Heaven. The bookcase is loaded with novels! There are so many of my favourite writers living side-by-side on these shelves. James Patterson, Dean Koontz, Martha Grimes, and that is only one of many shelves. I've only scanned the others, and honestly, I could live in here! There are books for any and every mood, belonging to virtually every genre under the sun... and there's a lot of sun in here.

Now, if I were told that I lost a day because I got stuck in here, unable to step away from all these wonderful stories, I would've believed that and swallowed the pill without water. Sleeping, on the other hand, is not something I do for prolonged periods unless I'm deathly ill.

I do not lounge in bed over weekends or take naps. As far as I'm concerned, sleeping is a necessary chore that needs to be done to give the body rest and rejuvenate the mind. That's it.

Ransford said something about altitudes and temperature changes that I'm not used to the air here and whatnot, which all sounded plausible and probably made sense, but I'm still struggling to wrap my mind around it. He assured me that many guests and newcomers to the island, and especially the manor, often struggle to wake up the first day or two.

Well, I'm awake now, and I've got a juicy book - Martha Grimes' I'm the Last Running Footman - in my hands, and I'm never leaving this room again!

The rain has stopped, and after I tied back all the yellow curtains draped from gilded railings, the sun is shining inside brightly and warmly. There are no hovering shadows and dimly lit corners to freak me out, and when I talked to myself, Ransford didn't suddenly appear. 

That's probably not one of the perks... I rather like Ransford.

It is so lovely and warm in here I do not even need to light the fire in the hearth, but I would like some coffee, though. Coffee and cake would make all of this extra perfect. If I knew how to summon Leopold, I would definitely ask him to bring a mug full of heaven, but so far, my telepathic powers are even more non-existent than I knew they were. I have no supernatural qualities of any kind, not even a whisper. Well, I don't believe in those anyway.

Before he left to go see his brother, Ransford assured me that he would teach me how to use the coffee machine as soon as he could. He said it in a rather odd way, though. His lips tweaked in a mischievous grin, and he was leering at me from under long, drooping eyelashes.

I'm not entirely sure he was talking about the coffee machine at the time; his words were along the lines of, "When the first opportunity makes itself available, I'll be delighted to teach you all you wish to learn."

I clap a hand over my mouth when a giddy giggle bursts from my lips. What on Earth?! I'm acting like a schoolgirl with a crush! At least, I think so... I've never had a crush before.