The Pool Room

That evening, Annalise ate her dinner in the kitchen with Aunt Claire and Sera while Garron and Mr. Warren ate their dinner in their rooms in the servant quarters which were built in the backyard.

She also found out that there was a huge orchard in the backyard with hundreds of different types of fruit trees standing tall but they were in a similar state as the castle. She decided to check the orchard the very first thing the next morning.

As for the Dark Lords, none of them made an appearance this time for the dinner. Kenric had already informed her that they won't be joining, so Annalise wasn't looking forward to their company. However, she was curious about Lord Valerius and Lord Damien who not only skipped the dinner but also breakfast and lunch.

Besides, the situation in which she found the kitchen in the morning, it didn't seem like anyone had stepped inside it in ages. So, where did the Lords cook their food, and who cooked their food because there was no original servant in the castle?

Her head started buzzing with questions the more she thought about the Lords. They seemed way more mysterious than she presumed.

Letting out a small sigh, she hurriedly finished her dinner, and after helping Aunt Claire and Sera a little bit in cleaning up, she took her leave and headed towards her room. She hadn't returned to her room ever since the morning, so she still had to see how it looked after the maids cleaned it up.

As she entered the room, a soft breeze and the light essence of lavender greeted her. Sera had lighted a few lavender-scented candles around the room and even though there was a light breeze blowing outside the castle and the huge open window was allowing it inside, the candles still kept burning brightly because of the spell Sera had cast over them.

Her eyes took in the changes in the room that had made it appear way more lively and beautiful. Unlike this morning, the room was now filled with her belongings. The wooden shelf had some of her favorite books arranged in it with a few other decorative items filling some of the empty spots.

She was not sure what to feel after seeing the items that her mother had stuffed into the trunks to send with her. What if the Lords saw them? How would they feel?

The cabinet was filled with different pairs of boots, and shoes. There was a vase sitting on top of the cabinet with bushes of Rosemary and a few flowers of orange Dahlia. The empty flower pots were no longer in the room.

Her clothes were properly arranged in the closet and the dressing table was also prepared carefully with all the jewelry and makeup. The bed had been remade and the room, in general, appeared tidy and beautiful.

Annalise moved around the room, trailing her fingers along the shelves and vines, taking in their beauty and enjoying the essence of nature that they provided.

Her eyes closed on their own as she basked in the sweetness of the moment. Her powers came to the surface to engage with the tendrils of nature's essence.

And just like that, she once again missed the soft glow that swamped the room and disappeared into the vines, making them glow brightly for a couple of seconds before everything returned to normal.

"My Lady, will you like to take a bath before going to bed? There's a pool room on the ground floor and Lord Valerius asked us to prepare it for My Lady. It's really big and beautiful." Sera appeared in the room and informed Annalise about the pool room.

Considering that Annalise had spent the day cleaning the kitchen and doing other chores, a bath was exactly what she needed.

"A pool?" Annalise asked in surprise while opening her eyes and turning her attention to Sera. The thought of enjoying a warm bath before resting seemed too tempting for her to reject. "Alright. Let's go with that plan."

The two of them headed downstairs and Sera showed Annalise the way to the pool room which was located in the farthest part of the east side of the castle.

The pool room was indeed huge, starting with a normal sitting area with couches placed around a wooden table next to an empty fireplace.

A wooden screen was separating the sitting area from the rest of the room. On the other side of the screen was the pool surrounded by long red drapes that were hanging from the ceiling.

Sera helped Annalise in taking off her jewelry and dress. Only wearing a flimsy flannel robe, she descended the steps leading into the pool that was filled with water with fragrance oil and rose petals added in it.

"Let me help you wash your hair, My Lady." Sera offered as she took a seat behind Annalise who was sitting in the pool with her back against the pool wall.

Placing a bucket under Her Lady's long platinum blue hair, Sera started washing the most beautiful hair that had ever existed in the Seelie Realm.

Annalise closed her eyes as she enjoyed the head massage that Sera was giving her. She recalled her beautiful memories when her mother used to wash and style her hair.

Sera was done within ten minutes and she hurriedly wiped the extra water from Annalise's hair before leaving to empty the water of the bucket.

Annalise let out a small sigh as she slowly opened her eyes and started splashing the water on her face.

Seconds turned into minutes and before Annalise knew it, half an hour had already passed by but Sera still didn't return.

She was about to stand up to climb out of the pool when her eyes landed on the figure standing at the end of the pool, hiding in the shadows.

A gasp escaped her lips as she hurriedly submerged herself into the water, making sure that most of her body was under the water. Only her shoulders and head were visible over the water surface.

"Wh... who are you?"