Nadeshiko

Chapter Four

3.00 a.m.

The mansion was silent. Everyone seemed to have gone to bed and that's good because then, it would be easier to sneak around without getting seen. Naomi finished wiping the dishes. She stood near the counter, holding the clean plate while contemplating about her visit to Scarlett and Sho. Her night duty was finished and she was free. Amaya had told her to finish up quickly so that she could get a good night's sleep and wake up fresh tomorrow but she had refused in order to pay her best friends a visit.

She placed the dish into the cabinet and closed it. She wiped her hand on her apron and strolled towards another cabinet for a box of matches. She fumbled about and finally located one. She stuffed it into her apron's pocket before switching the lights off and heading towards the store room.

As she passed halls after halls, she began to grew afraid. The shadows seemed to be growing and the lights seemed to become dimmer each time she entered the next hall. "I don't get why the Head has to make the lights this dim. It's dim enough to scare anyone." Naomi muttered to herself. The mansion was silent. The halls were silent. The only sounds which could be heard were Naomi's shoes and the rain. It went clatter* clatter* at every step she made. The rain went patter-patter as it lands on every opaque objects.

The store room was at the far end of the hall. This mansion's like a maze! It's filled with never-ending halls and rooms. Reaching into her apron's pocket, she pulled out a bunch of keys. Good thing she's a servant. All servants have a copy of the keys of all the rooms in the mansion.

She held them out towards a small lamp mounted on the wall so the dim light shone on it and she could get a clearer look. Turning the bunch of keys around, she fingered each one. Finally, she got the key to the store room. It was such a small key. No wonder she had difficulty in finding it.

She fitted the key into the lock and turned. The store room smelled musty even though it was cleaned daily. It was rather dark. When Naomi fumbled about on the wall for the light switch, she found none. She cursed and wandered blindly in the dark until she reached the end. Her foot brushed over metal and she bent down to investigate it. It was a metal ring. She heaved at it with all her strength and it flipped open, revealing a dark hole.

She lighted a candle and shone it beneath the hole. There were small and narrow stairs. She went down them carefully. Scarlett, Sho. I'm here to see you.

When she got to the bottom, she held the dripping candle out. Some of the wax melted and dripped down her fingers. She bit her lip hard, trying to withstand the pain. "It'll fade soon so it's alright." She whispered, trying to soothe herself. Her hands shook, threatening to drop the candle but she held on because she didn't want to lose the light. It's going to be very troublesome trying to relight another candle in the dark. So even though it hurts, she still bear the pain and continued walking. She walked forward until the path was branched into two. One of it had been filled so the other one was her only option. She walked until several long, and thick bars came into view. Two silhouettes were leaning against each other, talking in hushed voices. But when Naomi drew closer, she realized that they weren't talking at all.

She placed her hands on the bars and whispered. "Scarlett, Sho."

Scarlett stopped singing and glanced up in surprise. Slowly, she lifted a finger to her lips and smiled. Naomi instantly knew why. She gave her a nod in reply and stuck the candle to the ground. The wax dripping from the candle made it easier for it to get stuck to the ground. Half of the candle had been burned. It's going to go out soon so Naomi prepared another candle and laid it beside her.

Sho's head was placed on Scarlett's shoulder. He was fast asleep. Apparently Scarlett had been singing to him until he fell asleep. She's a good singer. She has a beautiful and soft voice. Ever since Naomi was young, she had loved hearing Scarlett sing. Whenever she's doing her duty, Naomi would sneak into the room jut to hear her sing softly. When she was discovered by Scarlett, she would be dragged to the kitchen but Scarlett would always promise to sing to her later. Usually children get bedtime stories but for Naomi, she gets lullabies. Scarlett would sing to her until she falls asleep. One will definitely fall asleep after listening to her melodious voice.