Unfamiliar surroundings (1)

Amelia woke up from the bright sun shining directly into her eyes. Her entire body felt heavy and sore and her hair was drenched in sweat. She tried to lift her right arm but it instantly plopped down again. She hadn't felt so weak in ages!

She groaned when she thought about the long day of work that she had ahead of her. How would she possibly make it if she was this sick? But she would be punished if she did not do it… She could only count her lucky stars for awakening before the wakeup call. This way she could take her time to get up.

Fighting the urge to go back to sleep, she opened her eyes. The room was bright so it took a while for her vision to adjust. When her eyes finally focused and she could properly see her surroundings she was confused as to where she was.

'This isn't my room…'

The ceiling above her was not the usual worn out and grey one, but white with beautiful gold and turquoise patterns decorating it.

Amelia sat up in shock and darted her eyes around. She was laying in a luxurious king sized bed. The room around her was light and airy and decorated with turquoise and gold accents. In the corner stood a grand, beautifully crafted mahogny wardrobe.

'Where…'

Suddenly she remembered what had happened the day before and broke out in a cold sweat. She had fallen aleep on the sofa. How had she ended up here?

She recalled some vague memories of being carried by a familiar man with raven-black hair.

'Fuck! I'm as good as dead, aren't I?'

Her heart started beating harder in her chest and her breathing escalated.

'Would it be better if I just left now?'

She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and placed her feet firmly on the floor.

'I should at least see if it'll be possible for me to leave without being noticed.'

She took a deep breath before standing up. Her legs were shaking and she was dizzy. Despite this, she started walking towards the window to see which floor she was on. Much to her annoyance she could not walk quite straight and had to take it slow to not fall over.

After only a few steps her ears started ringing and her vision was becoming blurry. Black spots were showing up in her field of vision. Fearing that she would pass out and hit her head she clumsily sat down on the floor. This caused a loud thud.

She closed her eyes and waited for the ringing in her ears to settle, but just as it started to the door to her room opened.

"Miss Ainsworth! What are you doing out of bed? Oh gosh, have you gotten hurt? Do you need me to call for a doctor?"

The voice belonged to a young maid who did not look to be much older than Amelia. She was tall but had a childish looking face that was framed by dark blonde curls.

The maid had run up to where Amelia was sitting and reached out her hand to help her get up.

"The doctor said that you are very sick so you musn't walk around. I will help you get back to bed."

Amelia did not remember seeing a doctor and thought that she must have slept through his visit. What confused her though was why Dario Beaumont had sent a doctor, and a maid for that matter, to care for her after what she had done. It was strange.

Despite this she allowed the maid to help her back to bed. If the Duke had wanted to kill her he'd already have done so.

"Are you hungry miss Ainsworth?" The maid asked as she was tucking Amelia in.

"Not very. I don't usually eat breakfast."

"Well it wouldn't be breakfast considering the time."

"I'm sorry, but what time is it?"

"It´s around three in the afternoon."

Amelia gasped. "T-three in the afternoon?"

"That's right. It's probably a good thing that you slept this long since the doctor said that you will need lots of rest. Afterall, you've had quite a traumatic experience toni…" The maid suddenly trailed off. She brought her hands to her face covering her mouth with the palms.

'Almost badmouthing her master infront of his "guest". This maid is quite bold.'

Amelia tried to reassure the poor girl, who now almost looked to be frantic. "Indeed, I traveled quite far last night to get here. I suppose it took a toll on my body. How kind of His Grace to send me a doctor."

The maid visibly relaxed at Amelias words. She exhaled and quickly regained her friendly smile. "Would you like for me to bring you something to eat?"

"Thank you… I'd like that."

The maid bowed and turned around to leave, but she stopped in her tracks not long after.

"Oh right. I got so carried away when I saw you on the floor that I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Olivia. I've been assigned to watch over you until you're feeling better" The maid looked embarassed and her flushed cheeks made her resemble a tomato.

"I'll be in your care then." Amelia responded with a smile.

As soon as the door closed and Amelia was left alone, her smile faded.

What kind of maid would be so careless as to almost speak ill of her master like that? Could it be that she was sent to test her? What would've happened if Amelia had taken the bait and spoken badly about the duke?

'Maybe I am just paranoid…' She anxiously chewed on her lip. 'But it's better to be cautious.'

Before she'd been brought to the mansion by her father she had fought for her survival on the streets. Whereas her mother got some money by prostituting herself it wasn't nearly enough to cover both of their living expenses. For this reason Amelia resorted to pick-pocketing. She usually teamed up with other kids to do so, but always had to be on high alert- every single one of her friends were in desperate need of money and they would backstab each other without a second thought to get themselves a bigger cut of the cake. To put it shortly, trust in others was a foolish thing to have when growing up on the streets, This habit had stuck even after entering Ainsworth's mansion, and it had proven to be very useful. Amelia knew that no one acted without a hidden motive.

'I can't let my guard down around that person…'