New World, New Life, New Me (OLD)

Chapter 30: A softer side

I had finally made my way up the stairs. I paused for a moment. I didn't know the exact way back to the kitchen, and I would be in complete darkness again.

But the wall slid away, and I stepped back into the secret passage. "Hello, anyone there?" I called out.

Instead of hearing an answer, someone bumped into to. "Lady Maria?" they asked. I couldn't see their face, but only one person would call me lady.

"Mason, is that you?" I asked.

"Indeed. The others and I managed to escape this twisted place, but when we heard you were still in here, we came back to search for you. Where have you been?" Mason asked me as he pulled me along. "And why are your clothes damp?"

I wasn't sure how to answer. This was Mason I was talking to, it didn't seem smart to give away the presence of a safe room. But I couldn't think of a believable lie.

"I got lost, and took a fall down a waterfall."

Mason stopped. "A waterfall? We've scourged this entre tunnel system, and there was no waterfall, where were you really?"

"I did indeed fall into a waterfall, you must've missed it somehow." 

"That's a lie. If this waterfall is real, then you are hiding where it is." Mason said he started walking again.

"Well the, I guess you'll have to find out." 

Mason grumbled something I couldn't understand, but I doubt it was anything pleasant. We stopped, and he pounded on the wall.

It slid away, and instead of the kitchen I was expecting, it was a bedroom. A servant's bedroom, by the looks of the cheap furniture and drab decoration.

"This is my bedroom. I wish I was told about this secret passage leading to it, I'm sure I could have used it for my job." he said as he hopped down the. He held out his hand for me to take, but I ignored it.

"I'm sure you would've found a useful in your assassination attempt." I said

"Oh most definitely, if one of the passages lead to your bedroom. But it sadly doesn't, so protecting you will be much harder now." he said leading me out of his room.

"Protection? I don't need or want your protection. Why can't you go try to murder someone else and leave?" I said angerly.

"My lady, you might not want it, but my protection is invaluable to you. The other's could put up a fight, and you are surprisingly brilliant at times, but you have no ideas about all the other threats out there." Mason said.

I was about to say more when he abruptly stopped. "Now my lady, I will call for some maids to help clean you up, and I will bring you dinner once it's done." Mason said before pushing me into my bedroom.

Before I had time to think about our conversation, my nanny Mary and a new maid came running and lead me to a bath. "How did you get wet Maria?" she asked.

"Oh well," I didn't want to tell my nanny a lie so I faked a sneeze. 

"Oh no, she must have a cold what will we do?" said the new maid, as she poured more warm water into the bath.

"She'll be find, she get's over these things fast." Mary said, then whispering "That is, when she has them."

I blushed, but the new maid, I need to learn her name, didn't hear what Mary said. "Will we need to call a doctor, will we in trouble if she's gets sick?"

Mary and I both shook our heads no. "We already have a healer in the manor." Mary said as washed my hair.

"And you wouldn't get in trouble, I'm the reason I have this cold." I said. "Also, I don't recognize you, what's your name?"

"You-you want to know my name?" she asked.