Louis' Heartache

She was all cleaned and comfy. She hadn't taken a bath in so long and it felt very wonderful. She didn't even realized that she was in an awful state up until that point.

It was also then she experienced something new- she had a complete stranger- a servant- bathe her, dressed her up, and brushed her hair. She was very shy as it all played out, but felt as if she was truly a princess of some kingdom and felt a small burst of happiness at the thought. What? Girls of her age dreaming to become a princess is normal and they would sooner or later grow out of it.

Staring at her own complexion in the mirror as a young maiden gently brushes through her hair, she finally got a chance to look at herself without all the ash and dirt from spending days outside. Her brown hair looked much shinier and ever so soft to the touch and her fair, freckled face felt smoother when she touched it.

Afterwards, the servant girl ushered her out of that room and out in the halls. For a grand house, the hallways were awfully silent with nothing but echoes of footsteps from other workers of the manor. The maiden then stops abruptly in front of another door and turn to the girl with a gentle smile. "Young Master is waiting for you in this room," she said, pushing open the big, wooden doors yet it made no sound whatsoever. The girl eyes the woman whom had to tell her to go inside.

The girl quietly made her way inside the room, light to the feet that you wouldn't hear her come.

There, Louis sat on an armchair across the room, about a couple of steps away. He was reading and seemed to be engulfed by the words spread about. The girl stayed silent, staring down and it went on for some time. Then, she carefully and awkwardly raised her head and examined the boy who had saved her from the cold. He had dirty blonde hair and eyes, half-lidded, a deeper colour than the ocean. His delicate face rested on the knuckles of his right hand. The sun's rays shone through the windows in the room, making the atmosphere enchanting and his face evermore handsome. There was no doubt that he would be much more charming as he grows into his later years.

After a few more moments passed, he closed the book, seemingly finished with it. "Ah, I wasn't aware that you had come in. I see that you're done with freshening up," Louis said. Her face was indeed wiped cleaned last night but with a proper bath, she looked much like a living porcelain doll.

The girl said nothing and just nodded all the while staring at the ground and once again, fumbling with her fingers. "Why don't you come to have a seat here? You will get tired if you just stand there." Louis gestured towards a chair across his. The fireplace in front of where he sat was lit up since it was winter and the place would be cold if it weren't lit. The girl walked over to where he was and sat on the chair that faces Louis.

"Alrighty then," he smiles, adjusting himself to be more comfortable on the leather chair, "Since you can't give me a name, could you answer why were you roaming about on the streets especially when there was a blizzard coming?" His eyes were bright in an open-minded like way when he said that, hoping that she'd be a bit more open but the girl shies away once more and thought about words to answer him.

Louis stares at her, seeing her face sadden and eyes filled with questions of her own. It took a moment of silence before she could muster a courage to speak. "I'm looking for my mommy and daddy," she answers, clutching her clothes. All she wants is to reunite with her family and would travel across the globe to be with them. They must have surely missed their daughter, no?

Louis looks at her and felt an ache in his heart. How could she still say that? Does she not know? Such a delicate soul such as hers shouldn't have been born into this world where danger and risks are at every corner one turns. But more importantly, Louis felt that she shouldn't be experiencing this sort of loss at such a young age.

Not wanting to break the poor girl's heart, he says nothing and nods. It was a saddening case that Louis had received and really didn't know what he should do.

Another long silence pass them before either of them spoke, specifically Louis. "Um, what do you think of playing a little game? Let's play a game to get to know each other more, yes?" Other than his reason to dispel the heavy topic from the room, he do wishes to know more about the child. "Oh, do you know how to play chess?" he asks to which she shook her head no.

"Okay then, let's play chess while we talk. It will be boring to just have a conversation," he said, standing up to go to a table behind him that was pressed against the wall. "Don't worry, I will teach you along the way, alright?" He looks over his shoulders to see that the girl had raised her head. A rabbit. The way her round eyes looks at him in question reminded him of a rabbit.

He laughs lowly and return to his spot, placing the chessboard along with the pieces on the round table that separated the two. "I believe that I was about your age when my father taught me how to play chess," he said. "He said he was bored and wanted someone other than his butler, who he knows how would play, so he taught me. It has been only a couple years so I'm not the best compared to the older men and might not be at all the best mentor."

As Louis rambles on, the girl concludes that he was a chatterbox, but in a good way. Although she is not at all as comfortable to be in this place unlike him, he relieves her of her anxiety. She wonders if he is always like this-- making people at ease and able to converse in topics with them because to her, he seems lonely.

~♡~