The next morning everything feels eerily quiet.
Too quiet.
No screams of pains from the maids.
No tittering of energetic children in the morning.
The birds chirping violently. Like they're trying to warn me i'm in danger.
It all feels like a trap.
The butler got impatient.
No matter how watchful, one flaw of the butler is that he's impatient. More that he doesn't like to wait for anyone or anything.
He made his move. Exactly like I planned but how shall I respond.
Any move I make has repercussions as well as benefits.
Let's enunciate on the move I've already made. Jenny already dropped in yesterday night telling me everything I need to know.
A necklace of ten gold really did make her chitter like a squirrel.
She arranged a meeting for me and made sure it was with the leader. I shall wring all they usefulness out of her. Till she has nothing left to give.
The meetings at noon in Junos Cafe.
Perfect for a quaint little meeting.
I arrive just short of being late. The maids were being fussy and I had to wear my clothes myself, which was quite a bother.
I find a seat.
The waiter arrives, full in blue clothing. Each waiter wears a different piece of colored clothing.
I have to request for the one wearing yellow.
"May I have the yellow waiter instead?" I kindly say.
"Of course, my lady." He calls her over and points to me.
"Hello, my lady. What do you want today?"
"I would like the Snake Macaron topped with Serpentina." Her eyes widen. Showing me she understood what I wanted.
"Follow me, my lady. There is quite an array of options. You must pick the one you like."
I nod and follow her into the backroom of the store. She takes into a cupboard and shoves everything to the side and beckons me to go in. After I go in, she closes the cupboard door.
I go down the winding stairs, holding my hands on the wall to steady myself and to guide myself. There is no light.
I finally reach the end.
All of a sudden, lights blind my eyes. I close them needing darkness to get used to the light.
When I open them all that is there are doors. A line of doors each with a different symbol on them.
One has a rabbit, another a jaguar.
A pink ribbon, a cup of tea.
But the one I need is the hourglass showing there's no time left.
I enter, seeing a tea set on a little round table.
Sitting there must be the owner, Noot Sderring.
He looked like he was in his mid-thirties. Brown hair, blue eyes, a nice face. Any nice girl would want him. Sadly, I'm not a nice girl.
"Hello, Mr. Sderring."
With a surprised tone,"You picked the correct one."
"It was easy connecting the dots. The guild failing, the hourglass with no time left. It couldn't have been more obvious."
"Ha, I've never had anyone say that before. Now, why did you want a meeting and why with the owner, specifically?"
"I have a deal for you. Let me invest in the guild for a monthly basis. In exchange for that, tell me everything."
He looked stunned. Investing on a monthly basis would put quite a strain on anyone's wallet.
"You want to invest," he repeats slowly. "Monthly."
"Correct."
"In us."
"Also correct."
"With your own money?"
"The only thing you need to know is how much money I'll be investing. Not the where."
"I'll be blunt, I don't want my guild to be involved with anyone shady."
"Nothing shady, I promise."
He looks me directly in the eye."Can I trust your promise?"
"If you agreed to this meeting, that must mean you did a background check on me. Do you think you can trust my words?"
"...Give the money and take the envelope resting on the yellow waiters table."
I give a soft nod and walk out.
The yellow waiter waiting for me outside the cupboard.
No words spoken, just me following her. She takes me back to my table where there's a envelope resting on it. I pick it up, put a gold coin on the table and walk out.
Sitting in the green house. Away from the servants and the Imperial Family.
Feeling the wind in my hair and the envelope shifting away. Like it wants to run away. That I'm not allowed to read the secrets written inside the envelope.
I rip my nail through the envelope.
I expected to read something important but all I got was four lines of information that made no sense to an outsider. Thankfully, I wasn't an outsider but that didn't mean I understood all of it.
1. The lemon tea.
2. A Northern Crown Prince's engagement plans.
3. The Blood Rose has bloomed.
4. The twin has returned.