S a l e t é I I

XIV - Mains - Treize

Cassia had spent a while - or, at least, what felt like a while - reading the letter she'd written to Esmund, ensuring that it was up to scratch in terms of what she wished to say. In truth, it had started as a letter to him, but it had ended up as more of a message to the entire family, as they would have been worried about her in equal measure.

She would have felt so, so much better about her situation if she knew that the other members of Deering House weren't worrying about her. The thought of them, riddled with anxiety, all because of her...

It threatened to leave her hollow.

She had expected to want to make changes to what she'd written. Instead, she was surprised to find that she was actually quite satisfied with what she'd put. She tried not to dwell on it for too long, lest some of her difficult feelings take centre stage, and she was glad she'd given it some more consideration.

Holding her book, reading some of the notes within, seeing Adeline's scribbles, seeing a certain servant girl's handwriting... It made her feel just that little bit closer to home, or, no, it made her feel as if she had a little piece of home with her, or...

She wasn't entirely sure as to what exactly that feeling was. All she knew for sure waa that it was one she wasn't ever going to let go.

Uliana was a little more restless for the duration of what must have been the afternoon and the subsequent evening, as her mind was still full of ideas regarding what they would be doing in the near future.

This junkyard that had been mentioned didn't sound like the most desirable place, though Cassia could certainly understand why such a location would hold value to people in their situation. They weren't the only ones in Lower Merveille, however, and she imagined that it would be quite a busy place.

Things from the city above... So, what, was Lower Merveille just a place to send everything that the rest of Merveille didn't need? Because it was starting to sound as if that was the case. She would have to wait and see for herself, and she considered jumping to any sort of conclusions - no matter how large or small - to be nothing short of unwise.

Over the course of the day, she noticed that Taya was looking her way a little more often, though she would always act as if she hadn't been paying her any attention whenever she noticed.

Was her curiosity beginning to overtake her caution? It was possible. She still wouldn't say much to her, and she still didn't approach her for any reason, but Cassia hadn't started to mind. This was their space, after all, and she'd been the one to come into it - it was only natural, and perhaps even wise that Taya was sceptical. She would allow her as much time as she needed in order to get comfortable with her presence.

At one point, Cassia had been sat up on the walkway, her feet dangling over one side as she held onto part of the railing. The door to Monet's room was just ahead, and part of her wanted to go and knock, to see if she needed anything or if she wanted some company, whilst a slightly bigger part of her told her not to. Again, those doubts were present, and she didn't wish to interrupt the older girl. 

It was a bit like how things had been with Amala... She never really wanted to join in, but it was still important to let her know that they wanted her to. A little kindness could go a long way, and it had been nice to discover that Uliana thought in identical terms.

With a little help from the rest of the girls, time eventually moved along at an acceptable pace, and Cassia felt as if the next excursion would be coming along soon. She liked to think that she'd started to develop a sort of sense for when each one was coming up, but she could hardly be sure that her predictions were accurate. Even so, it was nice to at least feel as if something was about to happen.