Hello, I'm..

Her whole body went numb. She could no longer feel anything- not even the tears that escaped her fading eyes. Why did she even try? What could she accomplish by continuing to fight for survival in this world when she had nothing.

"Hey!" A distant voice called out. But to whom? Was it to her? Is it the voice of the father? She couldn't move let alone open her eyes so she couldn't physically smile but she did, thinking that it was the father. She was finally going to leave this world. She fought hard trying to survive. Why didn't she just starve or end her life earlier? It's the saying how her mind is ready to die yet her body doesn't want to give up. But now, the body also has agreed that there was no hope in living. There wasn't going to be a miracle happening anytime soon that will save her from this.

She felt warmth engulfing her. She could not hear the voice calling out to her as she accepts the death that was supposed to come. It was so warm. This was the first time she felt this warm since her abandonment. She was going home.

-

The sun filters through the curtains, showering a soft, warm glow on the girl's sleeping face. She has been out since ever since she was found, a day and a half ago to be more precise. In those days she came down with a fever and unfortunately, there were no doctors available due to the snow.

The house was silent as ever before with not many guests to cater to. The boy who saved the girl was silently sipping his tea and reading his book in the library. He had visited the girl not too long for the nth time that morning but she hasn't awoken at all.

"Young master?" a female's voice was heard after a knock on the door. With no response from the master, the person entered the room. She was a fine-looking young maiden with her brown hair tied back into a bun and her shimmering green eyes glittering even more by the sun's light shining through the window. She was a servant of the young boy.

The young master did not bat an eye at her as he continues to read his book. It was written by a very famous mystery writer of the time and the series was well-loved so he was very well into it.

"The young miss has awoken." The words from the servant made their way to his ears and at once, he finally looked up from his book. The girl that had collapsed on the snow last two nights ago was finally awake but to a strange, unfamiliar place. It was, however, warm and she did not have the energy to be frantic.

The boy made his way to her room at a quick pace, yet not too quick as to tell he was rushing to her. He wanted to know if she was doing any better all that morning. When he got there, he found the girl sitting up straight on the bed, gazing at the sun she thought she'd never would have the chance to see once again.

Hearing the door opened, the girl shot her head in the direction of the door. She was at a loss and was feeling more scared when she made eye contact with the person who had saved her. He noticed the unease and worry in the girl's eyes and asked others who were in that room to leave. Once all cleared, with a smile, he brought a chair over to the side of the bed and with a smile, he spoke. "Hi, my name's Louis Arundel. It's a pleasure to finally have the chance to talk to you. What's your name?" The girl did not answer and was feeling even more nervous than before, looking down at her lap and fumbling with her fingers.

After a while of hesitation, she opened her mouth a little to make the lowest of voices. "I.. I don't know my name.." Her mother's sweet, gentle voice when she tucked her to bed each night was nothing but a wind whispering to her. The girl can picture her mother saying her name, but no voice ever echoed. It was also then she realized that she could no longer remember the face of her own mother. Has it been that long? How will she ever find her mother if she can't even recall?

Tears well in her eyes and soon, it was an unstoppable flow of water, like a fountain or a waterfall. All through the time in her search, she had not once shed a single tear. She had told herself that she shouldn't cry or else that would be giving up hope and might never find her parents. But now, she couldn't hold it back anymore and oh how long she cried that she couldn't care less that a complete stranger was watching her in pity. Once her river had dried, Louis offered her a glass of water that was just beside the bed on a small table. Her face was burning with red around her eyes and tears were still left on her face.

"It's alright. There's no need to cry. I won't force you to remember if you can't," Louis spoke in a gentle tone and watches as the girl drank all that's in the glass. Then, there was silence. The girl had not once looked up to meet the boy's face since the last time they made eye contact-- which was when she turned to look at the door. Suddenly, her stomach's call for food was heard and she immediately felt her cheeks warm; embarrassed. The boy laughed a bit before saying, "you must be quite hungry by now. It is a quarter after one about now." He stood up and gaze down at the girl. "Why don't we go get you something to eat?"

Without looking at Louis' face, the girl nodded silently and got out of bed and followed him simply by looking at his shoes. She can tell that he was very rich by the look around the room she awoke and by his shoes and part of his pants. She noticed that her clothes were changed for the first time in a long time. "We're here." The voice who belonged to Louis spoke and she looked up at the room. The dining hall was very big like the room she slept in and she almost felt as if this was all a dream, that when she awoke, she would be sleeping in a wet, cold box in some alley. She hoped not. Then, she remembered that she hadn't even gotten to an alley and place her box. Could she have died out on the streets then?

"I'll have someone cook something up for you." She heard Louis say and he guided her to a seat. He left the room briefly and came back. He was telling the chefs to fetch something up for the girl and to make sure to make a whole load of a variety of dishes. He had made a mental note that she was very frail and that her bones looked like it was gonna gush out at any moment.

Food came not long and the aroma just woke the girl with happiness that this was indeed real and not a dream. She was surprised by the amount of food she'd seen enter the room. It was enough to feed a whole family, she thought. Louis noticed the sparkle in her hazel eyes but also how she hesitated to even pick up her utensils. "Go ahead and eat. This is all yours," he said and the girl did just that. He watched her eat so much of the food that he would dare throw out if it is unsatisfied him or he could no longer want.

She finished it with little to no food left on each plate that was brought out. She had never felt this full in a long time. The church didn't have much to distribute since there were still many others to give to and they'd also keep for meals later in the day.

"You must've been very hungry," Louis points out. "I'll have someone ready the bath and bathe you. In the meantime, do you want to look around the place a bit?" The girl shyly looks at Louis before staring down and nodding. Though she didn't say anything, she was very excited to explore the manor she thought was a castle.

Louis told the nearby servant to ready the bath and then he showed the girl the garden from a large window that was directly facing the garden's centre. It was a sight to see and it alone looked enchanting and grand. It was so big that you couldn't see the end of the garden unless you adventure further. In the middle of it all stands a large tree that will show its true colours once spring rolls around. And just under the tree, was placed a single bench covered with heavy snow. But still, it was truly a sight to see and one could tell that it was properly taken care of.

~♡~