The master of the manor

Inside a dim lit room, a girl could be seen kneeling on the ground, under the the only flickering light in the room. The girl knelt in a slouched position, her hair pouring over her face, her hands were placed on her thighs.

The sound of water dripping to the ground could be heard from different corners of the room. The sound of an iron door opening and closing, echoed through the room. The girl still remained in her kneeling position; not moving nor speaking.

Whoever had entered remained silent and didn't move. The room was quiet for a few moments before the sound of heavy boots hitting the ground echoed in the darkness. From the sound of the boots, one could tell that the owner was a man. He seemed to be approaching the young girl. He stopped in front of her but not too close, still hidden by the darkness as the hanging bulb only illuminated the girl.

"Are you awake yet?" The man's voice echoed through the room. "Are you awake?" He repeated his question, but the little girl didn't move or reply. He moved closer to her and squatted down where the light could reflect his face.

"Can you hear me?" The man brought his hand close to the girl's hair, but he paused mid-air and retracted his hand back.

"You're trying to play games with me, right?" He scoffed, his expression turning sour.

"Get up this instant, or I'll leave you here for another day," he ordered, but the girl didn't budge. Feeling frustrated and angry, the man stood up.

"Leah, get up. Leah, Leah, Leah...!" he called out to the girl repeatedly. "Leah...!"

A loud gasp escaped Leah's mouth as she finally woke up from her nightmares. She coughed continuously due to the itch in her throat as she tried to sit up on the bed.

A young girl sitting by the window quickly rushed over and handed Leah a glass of water. She stared at the girl suspiciously before drinking the water. She gulped it down hurriedly as the itching and dryness in her throat slowly subsided. She brought the empty glass down from her lips and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Thank you," she said, handing the girl the empty glass.

"Do you need another glass, Miss?" the girl politely asked, her lips stretched in a lovely smile.

"No. I'm good." Leah stared at the sweet looking teenage girl in the school uniform. She did not know who the girl is, but she felt relaxed around her. The girl's smile was very smoothing and angelic.

"Okay." The girl nodded but still went ahead to pour another glass from a jug nearby.

While the girl was busy with the water, Leah took time to survey her surrounding, she saw that she was in a room but it wasn't her room neither was it a hospital. The room she was in, looked bigger and expensively furnished.

"Here you go." The girl handed her the glass of water.

"Please, where am I?" Leah asked the girl.

"You're in the manor, Miss." the girl replied her with a friendly smile.

"The manor?" Leah asks with a frown and the girl nodded. "Yes, the manor."

"What manor?" Leah asked.

"You don't remember?" The girl asked her with a serious face and Leah nodded.

Leah presses her temple. "I can't even remember what happened after I took out my trash yesterday."

The girl looks sympathetic. "You've been unconscious for two days."

"Two days!" Leah exclaims. "I've been unconscious for two days." Leah mutters, slowly clenching the glass of water in her hands.

"You were unconscious when the master brought you." The girl explained.

"Who's that?" Leah asked, confusion evident on her face.

"He's the owner of the manor. He's the one who brought you here." The girl replied.

Leah sweeps her eyes around again, finally understanding why the room looks so wealthy. She's in a mansion in a manor, which means that the man who brought her here must be wealthy. But how did she meet him and why did he bring her here? She tries recalling what had happened after she took out her trash, but she couldn't remember anything.

"Do you know why he brought me here?" Leah asked the girl.

"No. But I heard you were injured," the girl answers. "Please drink more water, miss. I'll go get the master. He would be very pleased to hear that you're awake," the girl said before immediately leaving the room.

Leah exhales, slowly tapping her fingers on the glass in her hands. She takes a few sips of the water before adjusting to the side of the bed to drop the cup on the side drawer. She lays back down on the bed, patiently waiting for the girl to return with the owner of the manor.

Minutes passed, but the girl had not yet returned. Leah got bored waiting and decides to stretch her limbs and legs a little.

She pushed the covers away from her body and slowly climbed down from the bed. It was then she noticed the light blue satin nightgown she was wearing. The gown stopped just below her knees with slender, corded hands. Walking to the window, she drew back the curtains slightly to catch a glimpse of the compound.

To her surprise, the sun was setting and evening was approaching. Her eyes slowly surveyed the compound, taking in the breathtaking garden adorned with various flowers and fruit trees.

The garden was truly immense, extending to the other side of the mansion. Her gaze traveled beyond the garden to the dense woods ahead, where she spotted a mountain rising in the west, not too far from the main compound. Satisfied with the view, she drew the curtains closed and turned to the bed, studying it for a moment before deciding to explore her surroundings to alleviate her boredom, as the girl had not yet returned.

She walked to the door and opened it slowly, peeking her head out to observe the hallway before fully stepping out of the room. She surveyed the area, noting the gray-hued walls, the ceramic pots by the side, and the paintings hanging on the walls. She reached out and touched one of the larger pots, feeling its cold, smooth texture.

She noticed that the pot was filled with black soot. She then walked over to the next pot, a smaller red one this time. She picked up the pot, her fingers running through the engravings. She noticed the same black ash in this pot too. She touch the ash feeling the texture on her fingers. She dropped the pot back and moved to the next one, she ran her fingers on every pot as she moved.

Leah finally stopped in front of a painting. Her brows cringed a little as she stared at the painting. There were dead people piled up with blood and weapons all over the place. Some of the bodies were either missing a head or another part. It looked like a complete slaughter.

It was a gory painting but Leah still found it amazing, that the artist had made the painting in a way that it looked so real. She slowly brought her hands up, towards the painting but she retracted her hands when something else caught her attention, it was the painting on the ceiling.

She stepped back from the sanguinary painting, trying to make out the subject matter of the painting on the ceiling. Her eyes slowly swept across the ceiling as she moved backward trying to see the remaining part of the painting so she could understand what the painting is about.

Her lips slightly parting as she looked at the ceiling inquisitively. Leah rubbed her arm, her attention fully focused on the ceiling as she moved backward, without noticing the shadow lurking behind her.

Leah was so engrossed with what she was doing until she hit something hard.

"Ahhh!" Leah screamed when she turned around and saw a man standing there. "You scared the hell out of me."

"I didn't mean to scare you," the man said apologetically. Leah gazed at the tall, handsome man in front of her. She cleared her throat and took a step backward to create some distance between them.

"It's fine. I was already perturbed by that painting." She turned back to point at the painting but realized it wasn't there anymore.

Instead, it was substituted by another painting; a landscape painting. Leah walked to the wall where the painting hung. She had a surprised look on her face as she stared at the new painting on the wall. The man also came to stand near her, to look at the painting she was staring at.

"Is this the painting that reeled you up?" The man asked curiously.

"No. It's not this one, there was another painting here. It was a gore painting, there was blood and bodies everywhere." Leah explained.

"I think it must have been your imagination. As you can see there is no painting like that here." The man said.

Leah stared at the new painting incredulously, she knew that she had seen a gore painting here. She sighed and shook her head.

'You're going crazy, Leah. Just stop imaging thing." She thought to herself.

She turned to face the man. "I'm sorry. I must have imagined the whole thing in my head." She flashed the man a small smile.

"It's fine. People always have strange imaginations when they come to the manor for the first time. It's very normal." The man smirked.

Leah gave him a confused look, trying to understand what he meant by that.

"Am William by the way." The man brought his hand forward for a handshake.

"Leah." Leah accepted his hand.

"Hmm, Leah." William mouthed her name, still holding her hand. "Your name rings a bell. Feels like I've heard it somewhere."

"Really?" Leah asked, slowly trying to remove her hand from his hold. "You can let go of my hands now." Leah said but William didn't budge.

"Let go of her, William." A cold voice ordered from behind, and William immediately let go of Leah's hand and moved away from her.

William turned to face Lucius who was giving him a deadly glare. "We were just getting to know each other..."

"Save it, William. I don't want to hear it." Lucius cut him off.

William glanced at Leah and then Lucius, before walking away.

Leah gazed at Lucius in shock. She recollected him from the ball; He was the vexatious man who had saved her from the kidnapper that night.

'Could it be that he was the owner of the owner of the manor? If he was, that meant he was the one who had brought her here.' Leah had many questions in her head to ask this him.

She was still contemplating when the girl, from earlier, arrived with a tray. She was no longer wearing the school uniform, she was wearing casual attire.

"Dinner isn't prepared yet, so I brought some fruits, master." The girl inclined her head slightly bowed as she spoke.

"Take it to her room." He replied brusquely.

"Yes, master." The girl bowed before proceeding towards the room.

Leah was about questioning Lucius but he beat her to it and spoke first.

"We will talk in the room." He said frigidly as he walked past her.

Leah bit her lip, holding back the flood of questions that threatened to spill out. She wanted to pour out all her inquiries, but she held herself from doing so because Lucius looked angry and for some reason, she did not want to make his mood worse.