She must have been out for far too long, because when she came to, she felt like a patient in coma. Her body felt so light that Diane was certain she could fly if she so much desires.
She pried her eyes open, silently hoping that all that happened was just a weird dream. Instead, her gaze met sharp eyes staring tentatively back at her.
"Oh my gosh!" Diane screamed in shock.
The other eyes jumped up, clearly startled too. Then the eyes, now emboldened, trotted back to staring at her, too close that Diane felt ice cold. Those are not the eyes of a human, she gasped. A swift of air blew open the curtains, and a flicker of light shone inside the room, revealing the owner of the sharp but crystal white inquisitive eyes.
"A cat?" Diane said out loud.
No, Diane thought to herself. This creature is obviously standing on its own leg; no cat is that tall.
"What?" "A cat?" the creature queried. "That was not something I expected from a human I saved her life. Me, a cat?" He continued with a voice that felt like it wasn't coming from him.
His face showed no anger, just plain curiosity. Diane has no idea what shocked her the most, that something like that talked or the part about him saving her life. There are not a lot of things that scared Diane after having lived a life she would describe as a nightmare. She took a longer look at it, and the next second she was shuddering from laughter. It didn't even matter that her body shook along as she laughed.
She laughed for a long time, and when she finally stopped, her eyes were teary.
This time, the creature walked around the room with his hands crossed at his back. Are those even hands? They were more like manicured paws. He seemed to enjoy the spectacle, the way the room was designed, or was it the books on the left shelves that caught his eyes, because now he stood at the same position, perusing the whole length of the bookshelf. Diane suddenly understood why she thought him to be a cat at first glance: soft white fur, pointed ears, and that unusually long tail.
The creature suddenly tilted his head, catching Diane off guard. She removed her eyes immediately, but it was too late because the next second he was standing just too close as he peered into her eyes. Diane closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, the creature was standing hinds-akimbo, as if unimpressed with Diane.
"Is this some bad attempt to not honor our agreement, pretending to not know me?" "It was not enough that you compared me to that mere animal, but now this too, Milady?". He purred on.
"I…I don't understand…" Diane stuttered. "An agreement? We had an agreement?" "Wait.., what…Who are you?" To this, the creature shook its head, more out of pity than bewilderment.
"There's been gossip going round Ravenforth manor that the intending lady of the house is under a spell of memory loss." The creature narrowed its eyes at her, now pity written over the tiny face.
House of Ravenforth.
That sounded too familiar. Was it a name in a movie she saw or a book she read? She tried to think.
"Should I juggle your memory a bit, Milady?" He said, startling Diane. There was a way the creature placed more sarcastic effort on the title as he walked closer to the windows still maintaining eye contact with her.
"I think there's been a mistake somewhere", Diane said quietly, that even the tone in her own voice surprised her. Suddenly, the whole conversation of that day felt like a familiar scebes.The familiarity of it all might be the only reason she is not shaken up as much as she was meant to? Why is she relaxed when she should be peeing her pants at the sight of this nameless creature?
"My name is Diane". "I have no idea who this Athea is, and where…" She paused.
"The Dark Heir!"
Diane suddenly blurted with her eyes widened as the memory finally hit her all at once. The creature who has been sitting on the edge of the window pane jerked in surprise.
Straightening back on his legs, with ears twitching sharply, still looking annoyed, he stared at her, unblinking.
"So, you do remember something," he said with a flat tone but still clearly wary, like he was reassessing her on the spot. Then took a long, thoughtful look at her.
"You are not Lady Athea, are you?" He said with suspicion now written over his face.
"You are not".
This he said with a tone of finality. The creature started trotting round the room again, with a gesture that suggested he was thinking. Diane was too busy trying to recall the details of the fantasy novel that she was sure had these same scenes. Was this particular creature mentioned, and what was the name? Her memories seem so bleak that to even remember a thing was great work. She looked up to find the creature back by her side, staring at her in utter confusion.
"Let me get this straight. If you are not Athea Lyselle, then who are you?"
"Diane…" she said, suddenly feeling exhausted from all the attempts at thinking.
"Are you not supposed to be a mystical creature though?". "It took you quite a long time…"
The creature's eyes shone with something Diane couldn't place. Was it anger, sadness, or something in between? It lasted only a few seconds, and he was back to that flat but inquisitive stare.
"Well, thanks to one of us here, I lost my second sight getting involved in human business!" He chirped. "I should have let you die instead!"
"I'm not the one you saved, though!" Diane, suddenly more emboldened, blurted out before she could keep herself in check. She regretted it immediately. Diane has never been one to speak recklessly; she would usually spend time choosing her words. What changed? She stared at the creature now, trying to gauge his reaction, but there was none. His face was blank with expression for the first time this evening.
"Well said, milady." "I would be taking my life thread then".
"Literally, I gave it to Athea, and not you; it's only right I take it back now."
"Life thread?"
Diane, from reading too many fantasy stories, did not need an explanation for what or how significant a life thread is. Then does it mean this creature was not joking about saving her life, Athea's life?
"Life thread?" She asked again, now sitting up and balancing her weight on her right hand.
"What do you mean?"
He looked at her, from her head and rested his eyes on her palm. A look of recognition was suddenly on his face.
"You… you finally got your healing glow?" He asked staring so deeply that Diane thought he was about to kiss her palm. He held them, as if trying to gauge if what he saw was real.
Alarmed, she turned to find the object of his attention. Though dimly now, her hand still burned with the ember glow that had knocked her out an hour ago, or was it the day before?
The concept of time eluded her.
He sadly walked away, backing Diane while looking out of the window. He opened his mouth as if to say something, and then there were steps coming towards the door. Diane saw the girl with the flawless skin walking gingerly towards her, with a wide grin on her perfect face.
"Milady, you are awake!' she said in that giddy manner that Diane has come to get used to. "I brought you honey rose cakes, your favorite snacks".
"I literally smuggled it in, the grumpy old lady said not to give you anything greasy, it'll be a secret between us," she whispered, still smiling.
Diane looked from her burning palm to the small honey-colored cakes placed on a golden tray; her stomach churned, and her head suddenly felt light. She is allergic to honey. She removed her face, now looking at the windows, but nothing was there.
She frantically scans the width of the room, but the creature is nowhere to be found. Only a cold shiver ran down her spine.
Suddenly, Diane felt another presence. Behind her, something whispered eerily into her ears.
She froze in utter shock.