I woke up in paradise again, instead this time, the light from outside seemed different, because it was now midday.
It's kind of surreal. You are out with your friends one day... then back to where you were in the beginning. I started questioning if everything had only been a dream... but I was still dressed in the clothes I had changed into when I had deactivated the traps at the apartment.
I don't know what happened or how I could have slept through all of it. Not to mention the etiquette instructor should have come into the room by now... weird.
I sat up from my bed and looked around but everything pretty much looked the same.
Ouch. A sudden pain started pounding my head. The light wasn't helping. I lay back in bed and put the covers on over my head.
I rest my eyes for a while before hearing a knock on the door. I take off the covers and begrudgingly make my way to door.
Who would have known, it's my mother. I think it's the first time I've seen her so close. She smelled of lavender, her appearance tidy and noble. Even though we lived in the same house now, I had only seen her in passing in the hallways. She always made a curt nod at me but made no other interaction besides that.
"Can I come in?" She asked sheepishly.
Stunned and excited, I let her in and she takes a seat on a small side table by the balcony window. She looks far off at a distance, at the gardens, smiling slightly. I sit at a seat opposite her, headache in the back of my mind because more than anything anxiety and uncomfortably loud silence is blocking the thud.
She finally turns to look at me. We lock eyes for a second. She pauses, "I heard you had an adventure last night."
Pause, "You remind me of me in my youth..."
She winces, "I hope Ms. Windrow hasn't been too harsh on you... She has always held high expectations for this family. She used to be my etiquette teacher in my youth as well."
I don't really know how to respond. I've never talked to her before and I had assumed she had kept her distance out of dissatisfaction but... she seems to care.
"Ms. Windrow has been great... I'm learning alot."
She pauses, "You know... you can be comfortable and tell me anything... if anything is to your dislike... or if anyone bothers you..."
I nod against it ferverently, "No, everyone has been nothing but nice to me."
"I see... then... yesturday's escape...?"
Realization's dawned on me. She must think I escaped because I was dissatisfied. I guess that makes sense but it was not the reason.
"... I had business to wrap up... I was taken so suddenly, I had to say good bye to my friends and the orphanage..."
My mother paled, "I am so sorry about that. We were worried you were mad at us for not finding you sooner and thought you would refuse to come home. Are you ok? Did we ask ever ask you that?"
Remembering the way I was abducted now, made me feel kind of angry but mostly annoyed. But now, what was done was done. I am now at 'home' so I say, "I've got over it."
She sighs sadly, "oh, I'm sorry... we just didn't know how to act... having a daughter we just found and now..." she mumbles away.
There's something she wants to tell me, I can sense it.
She takes a long pause, looking at the balcony, getting ready for the massive amount of audacity she needs to have to tell me, "You are getting married in a month from now. Your father and I have tried to keep you hidden, with the excuse of etiquette training however, it wasn't long before the Richardson family learned of your existence..."