87 Carnival (1)

"Miss," Alexandra heard 3 consecutive knocks on the door, interrupting the silence which surrounded her and grabbed her attention away from the book she was reading. She was now already on the 4th book when she heard the knock, she stood up from her seat and walked towards the door quietly. She held the cold knob of the door, twisted it, and swung it open, revealing Carlos who was standing just outside. "Yes?" Alexandra asked, her head slightly tilted to the side as she spoke.

"It's already time for your dinner although it's still early," Carlos said with a confused expression. Alexandra gave him a smile before she replied, "No, don't worry about it. I told them to prepare my dinner earlier than usual because I want to sleep early," Alexandra said, smiling at him. Carlos' mouth formed into an 'o' before he nodded and Alexandra started walking while Carlos was behind her. The walk to the dining room was quiet and the only thing heard was the sound of their footsteps.

It took them 5 minutes before they arrived at their desired room and the aroma of the food wafted to her nose, the smell was mouth-watering and she could already guess what it was. It was her favorite food and she hurriedly walked towards her seat, climbed up the chair, and shifted around to make herself comfortable before she began eating while Carlos stood still not far away from her.

--

"Did you enjoy the food, young miss?" Diana asked as they walked up the stairs heading towards the miss' room. Carlos followed behind the two and listened quietly to the conversation they were both having. Alexandra nodded before she spoke in a gentle voice, "Yes, it was really delicious," Alexandra said and as if on cue, they arrived in front of Alexandra's door.

Carlos opened it for them and they entered inside except for him. "Wait here, young miss, I'm going to prepare the bath for you," Diana said as she pointed at the couch before she walked towards the bathroom to do what she must do. Alexandra walked towards the couch and sat on it, she looked at the clock to see what time it was. 45 minutes left before 7, she thought to herself. I still have enough time to prepare.

Where is Harrison taking me? That was the question that lingered inside her head for the whole day even while she was reading, distracting her completely which annoyed her. It just can't be at the market because he could take me there during the day but where is he taking me at night? He told me to just trust him because he isn't going to take me somewhere completely dangerous, she thought to herself. Her eyebrows creased while she was thinking.

While she was thinking, Diana came out of the bathroom and called out to the miss who was silently sitting on the couch. Alexandra snapped out form her thoughts and turned her head at Diana's direction who was smiling at her. "The bath is ready now, you can come in," Diana said and Alexandra nodded before she stood up from her seat and walked towards the direction of the bathroom.

Alexandra took 20 minutes to finish taking a bath and change her clothes. Diana was now combing her hair in front of the mirror. "Are you tired now, young miss? I'm sorry if I'm taking too long but It will be finished in a minute," Diana said while combing Alexandra's hair. Alexandra shook her said before she responded, "No, no, it's fine. Take your time," Alexandra just said and stared at her reflection in the mirror.

She compared her previous self from her current self. Her hair from her previous life was black and wavy, her eyes were brown, and she had a small structure back then. She wasn't attractive, she had the looks of a normal girl. She wasn't pretty nor ugly. She was pale before and looked weak because of working non-stop. She only has a few friends at her workplaces before and they get along well, probably because some of them were in the same circumstances as her: working to earn money except that they are studying in a university or school while Alexandra was working to survive. She had a harsh life back then and all she had was just bad memories and a few good ones, mostly memories of her mother and her kind relative.

Her other relatives blamed her for the relative who took care of her. They blamed her because the money that was used for her should be used for her relative's medicine. Instead of staying in the hospital and using her money for the bills or fees, she used it for the girl's tuition fee and food. Alexandra couldn't remember her name even though she wanted to, there was someone or something preventing her to do so and every time she tries to, her head would ache probably from thinking so much. It was just like when she was trying to remember her memories at the orphanage. Alexandra let out a sigh.

Her current look now was completely different from her previous one although there were some similarities. Her hair was white like an old lady's although it was one of her bloodline traits, her eyes were blue and had the appearance of a gem. Just like how Diana described it before, it was like the color of an ocean and it held warmth just like her mother's yet it looked cold and empty just like her father's. Having blue eyes was one of their traits. It looked attractive and enchanting to be honest.

Her skin was the color of porcelain and Alexandra was beautiful like a doll. Her hair was smooth, silky, and long, just like what Harrison said, red truly suited her that's why he bought her ribbons and most of them were red. One of their empire's colors were red. Nevertheless, even though her looks and appearance were different, she was still the same Alexandra just different surnames. She has a second and third name now unlike before.

"There, young miss," Diana said and smiled at Alexandra with the use of the mirror. Alexandra nodded and smiled back at Diana before she stood up from her seat before she made her way towards her bed. She climbed up from it and pulled the comforter to cover her body, tucking herself in instead of Diana doing it. The softness of the bed slowly engulfed Alexandra and she embraced it. Diana smiled and caressed the top of Alexandra's head while smiling, "Good night, young miss. Have a good sleep and sweet dreams," Diana muttered but Alexandra was able to hear it completely.

"Good night," Alexandra responded while her eyes were closed before Diana was able to turn around and walk. Diana slowly pulled back her hand as she turned around and walked towards the door of the room but before she left, she turned off the lights first making the room dark. When Diana left the room and Alexandra heard the sound of the door being closed, Alexandra opened her eyes slowly and checked if no one was there. Okay, there is no one, Alexandra thought to herself before she sat up. The comforter that was resting on top of her fell to her lap as Alexandra looked around her room. She checked the time with the use of the clock and there are still 10 minutes left before 7.

She groaned in annoyance and laid back her bed, slightly bouncing off before sinking in. The softness of the bed embraced her once again if I accidentally fall asleep, it's not my fault, she thought to herself and tried her best to keep her eyes open. I wonder what I will do tomorrow since that would be the time where Harrison and my other brothers would return to the academy leaving us, Christian and I, behind, she thought to herself.

I probably don't have to go to the training grounds to give them a cookie or something, I probably won't have to go to the garden or at the treehouse found in the courtyard to talk with Brother Gilbert. Just like what Christian said, it was hard to talk with him or look for him and if you happen to find him, you can't think of a topic that he will like. Well, his favorite books were fictional ones like Claymore, I thought he would like history and Christian would like fiction but it was the opposite. Prince Calixander who looks serious also loves sweets like me and Prince Chandler who is reckless loves to collect things and treat it preciously.

Does father also like sweets? Does he also like to read books? Does he also like to collect things? Or was it mother who loves sweets and to collect things? Father reads a book but it's not one of his hobbies to read. Alexandra asked Diana before while she was helping her take a bath if her father loves books or sweets and Diana's response was a giggle and a 'no'. Then is it mother? It's probably mother but they could just develop that hobby as they were growing up. Christian doesn't have a clue what mother likes because he was still a baby when mother died, his memory isn't that good just like Prince Chandler but he is good at observing, analyzing, and collecting information. He could be a scientist or something.

Alexandra let out a sigh before she turned around to the other side. Her eyes widened as she yelped when she saw someone standing but she calmed down when she realized who it was. Black hair and red eyes, she groaned in annoyance. "Harrison, how long were you standing there?" Alexandra asked as she sat up, staring at the boy on her side. "Just a minute ago," He simply said and remained still at his position. "I see," Alexandra responded and looked at the clock to see there are still 3 minutes left before 7. Well, let's just say that it's 7 already.

"Are you ready?" He asked, his gaze bored at her face. Alexandra turned her head in his direction, to go or to teleport to the unknown place he wants to take me to? Alexandra asked herself while staring at him and she just nodded, thinking that was what he meant by his question. "Lend me your hand," He said. That's unusual, he would just grab me without warning and teleport. Nevertheless, she still lends him her hand just like what he asked her to do.

Then he grabbed it and a second later, she felt the feeling of being turned upside down like she was riding a rollercoaster, making her close her eyes and embrace the feeling. Although she felt dizzy, she didn't have the urge to puke unlike before. The feeling lasted for 30 seconds before it disappeared but she was still dizzy. "You're still not used to it?" Harrison snickered as if he was mocking her. Alexandra opened her eyes and tried to glare at him. "I am slowly getting used to it, it's not like I teleported, or whatever you call that, multiple times already," Alexandra responded and slowly, the feeling faded away.

"Where are we, anyway?" Alexandra asked as she looked around to see that they were inside a dark alley but it was different than the usual alley they would teleport at. "In an alley, obviously," Harrison responded and Alexandra gave him the stink-eye as if she was annoyed by his answer. "I mean, where are you taking me?" Alexandra asked and Harrison just showed her a grin, and she felt a chill coming from it. How annoying, I wanted to erase that grin from his face, Alexandra thought to herself even though she already saw that multiple times.

Alexandra noticed that he was wearing something casual. Dark pants, dress shoes, and a white long-sleeved button-up shirt. There was something different from his face, his eyes were green and his hair was combed back but a few strands weren't. This was the first time that he showed her what his altered appearance looked like. Alexandra looked down at her clothes and saw that she was wearing a red apron dress.

"Just wait, I'm going to take you there," Harrison said and grabbed Alexandra's arm before he ran and dragged her to somewhere. "Wait, Harrison!" Alexandra said but he didn't listen to her and just continued to drag her without saying anything, they passed by multiple people almost bumping into them. Alexandra kept calling out to him but he just ignored her, so she just let out a sigh and let herself be dragged by him. Seriously, if this guy is going to take me somewhere dangerous, she thought to herself and thought of ways on how to protect herself.

They were running for like 5 minutes before they arrived at Harrison's desired destination. Harrison stopped running, still not letting go of Alexandra's arm while she panted and rested her palm against her knee as she bent. She was panting and breathing heavily, does he really not know the difference of his stamina from mine?

Harrison looked at her and faintly smiled before he spoke, "Lift your head up," He said and Alexandra's eyebrows creased. She lifted her head, still slightly confused and looked at Harrison before at her right side. Then her eyes widened in shock and amazement as she gasped. It wasn't the frozen lake or something but it was way more amazing than that. Blinding lights around the place with many people entering and exiting the place with smiles on their faces while they were with their friends, lover, family, or just alone. Inside of it, she could see multiple stalls whether it was a food stall or a store.

A carnival.