Metarie goes to Kaledin Manor

[Belatucadrus]

Both Suela and Belatucadrus were still awake and in the manor when Ree went down to look for someone. The vampire was easily missed in such a large place, but he had a way of knowing what was going on inside. It was nearly impossible for someone to go wandering about while he was awake without him knowing about it. The floorboards creaked a certain way, the house settled, air shifted and brought the smells of one room into another. Like a spider sensing its prey through vibrations in its web, he let her find Suela on her own.

Just beyond the staircase, Metarie could easily see candle light coming from a room with an open door. Suela was there, dressed in a hooded cloak as though she'd just been outside. She was putting something away in a drawer when she noticed Metarie.

"Is something wrong? I thought you were asleep." Suela said with a mild look of concern. Unless she was as good a liar as her master, she was genuinely concerned only with offering help.

[Metarie]

Ree had no idea how long she had been unconscious. For all she knew it could have been a few minutes, but Suela was in a cloak so Ree thought perhaps it was much longer than that. Running a hand through her hair, she smiled self-consciously.

"Is there a washroom? I'm afraid I'm in need of a bath. And... the room you put me in. I think... my mother and I used to sleep there? There are clothes in the wardrobe... " Ree realized she just admitted to rummaging trhough things that did not belong to her. An embarrassed blush followed. Her hand brushed through her hair again.

"Sorry. When I remembered we stayed in the room, I couldn't help but look around it. So many years had passed." So many, in fact, it was possible Suela was not the servant then. Ree shook her head. "I think the clothes were my mother's?"

[Metarie]

Suela had a distant smile and eyes that looked outward upon the world as though things happened around her at a distance. While she listened attentively and politely to Ree, there was a vacancy there that was only gone when she was talking to Bela.

Her eyebrows perked up with an appropriate amount of interest, but the sense was there that nothing in Ree's experience was of much consequence to her.

"Bela has kept that room as it is for decades now, but I'm afraid it was like that before I came here. That would be the best room for someone of Ciara's stature, but I don't know whose clothes those are and I can't say what happened back then." Nonchalantly closing the drawer, she continued, "The bathroom is upstairs, you are free to use it."

"Ah, I must have gone in the wrong direction." Ree was at a loss as to the room. Regardless, she needed to bathe, rest, find a dress, and return to Marn in time for the Gala. "Thank you. Do you suppose I might have use of a carriage to return to Marn tomorrow? I need to purchase the proper attire for the Gala before I can attend it." Ree knew she had left it to the last minute and suspected she’d be looking at the dregs of fashion offerings.

Suela raised her eyebrows in apparent surprise at the suggestion Metarie would be expected to walk back to Marn. "Yes of course, Lady Sehkhara. I will have the carriage ready for you by sunrise."

"Ah, yes, thank you." Being referred to as Lady Sehkhara was off-putting, even if it were technically correct. Ree did not think of herself in those terms, no matter how accurate it might be. No one else she interacted with on a regular basis called her that. Doctor was a title she wore easily, but Lady? Ree gave a half-smile.

"I don't suppose you know of any dress makers that could turn out a proper dress and shoes in time do you? I'm afraid I've left it to the very last minute."

The maid didn't hesitate at all to offer the services of one of Marn's finest dressmakers - a name Metarie would struggle to afford under normal circumstances. "Yes, I will have the Juliai waiting for you when you reach Marn. If you like, the carriage can take you straight there in the morning."

Ree blinked. Even in her lack of social circle interactions, she knew the name. "I... alright, thank you." She'd imposed enough. It was time to bathe. Ree turned away from Suela and moved back up the stairs. Pausing, she looked down, toward the woman, "Thank you... again."

But, Suela was already gone, leaving Ree to the quiet of the house. Perhaps it was more a mausoleum than a museum - there was no life in the place. Ree found the bath at the end of the hall and was again overtaken by the sense of swimming in memories and being out of her depth at the same time. Truth be told, she'd had enough of the place. Bathing was perfunctionary and quick. The sooner she finished bathing, the sooner she could sleep, waken, and leave.

Ree ha'd lived a mostly solitary life, but here seemed so much more lonely because of its unchanging stillness. Luxury was everywhere, but it was cold and empty. Maybe it was just her memories that made the place seem sad... Thankfully, sleep overtook her. Her next tasks were upon her.

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Ree continues here: http://www.tharshaddin.com/rp/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=3329