Dove.
The past faded from my mind quickly as I dropped the fabric, pushing around in the closet for a blouse instead to replace the ripped one I currently wore. Thankfully there was a plain white linen shirt tucked away on an upper shelf. I changed into it quietly and could tell its high quality from its softness against my skin. It didn't outwardly look it though, which was strange.
Taking a step back from the wardrobe, I then pushed forward to the door on the side of the room that sat untouched by time. I twisted the knob and nothing happened. It was locked.
I searched around the room looking for a key but there didn't seem to be one anywhere. The door didn't even appear to have a lock in which to place such a key, making me think it locked from the outside, to maybe trap someone down here. That didn't make any sense though, because they could then just leave out of the passageway I just came from.
With a sigh I walked out into the passageway and started to make my way back into the basement of the building, hoping not so much time had passed that I was too late to do my duties.
The passageway seemed to incline upwards like a slope I hadn't noticed the night before. My leg throbbed from the effort but eventually I saw the wall at the end of the passageway. The faint blue light shined a little more brightly on one of the stones at waist level and so, instinctively, I pressed down.
The wall rumbled quietly as the stones gave way for an opening and thankfully my mop and bucket were there on the floor of the room. Picking them up, I hobbled towards the stairs as I heard the stones rumble shut behind me.
It looked to be about midday when I emerged from the basement. I walked directly to the nearest bathroom to add water to the bucket and set about working on quickly cleaning the main level. It took a bit longer than usual, some of which having to do with how weak I was and some of which having to do with cleaning my own blood off the wall, but eventually I finished.
Dumping the water into a sink intended for that purpose I made my way upstairs to my room, depositing the bucket and mop against the wall before grabbing a towel. The walk to the bathhouse on the floor took only a few steps but it was interrupted, abruptly, by the whack of a cane.
"What the devil do you think you're doing, this floor is still a mess." She growled, and then noticed the crusted blood on my hair... the way my neck was almost black from bruising.
"Child, you need to be telling me everything right this moment." She screeched in... panic?
"A man attacked me" I confessed, and then, ashamed of myself for not being stronger, I started crying again.
The madame grew pale, and demanded as many details as I could remember, leaving out the passageway and saying that I'd fainted after being struck, coming to not long ago. After that she sent me off to the bathhouse and told me to stay there, that a girl would be sent to help clean my wounds.
I was a little surprised by how kind she was throughout the whole thing. Maybe I was wrong to doubt her? Maybe she really was trying to keep me safe?
The bathhouse smelled sweetly of herbs when I walked in and I quickly shed my clothing before slipping into the water to wait. I washed the night before off my skin as much as I could, without touching my hair, scrubbing my arms and my body until my skin was red and raw.
I jumped when a woman cleared her throat behind me, I hadn't heard her come in, when I came face to face with another set of bright golden eyes. Phoenix.
She mockingly bowed, "Yer highness. I've been sent tah attend to yer needs." Her heavy accent surprised me because she didn't speak that way before, until I realized she was just mocking me.
I didn't respond to her taunt, other than to nod, "Thank you for helping me" I instead answered and then turned away from her, angling my head so she could see the damage.
She didn't say anything again and I bit down on my lip to stifle my cry when I could feel her digging gravel out of the cuts in my scalp. After what seemed like a long time, she applied more of the soothing magical salve Raven had introduced me to, to my scalp and then wrapped my head as a whole with a bandage.
When she was done, I could hear her shedding her clothing before she slipped into the spring besides me.
We sat there together for a long time in a comfortable silence.