I'm sorry…I'll be home soon, I promise.
I couldn't stay here. I needed to get back to my world, as quickly as I could. It wasn't very manly of me to keep her waiting, after all.
I looked again at the piece of paper in my hand, a letter that only I could "read", if you could even call this "reading".
'Now to figure out how Mr. Douglas was involved,' I thought to myself. I got up and looked around, thoroughly. I checked every corner of my room, under the bed, beneath the sheets, inside the wardrobe, even outside my window. I bent down and checked the farthest corners for any hint of an artifact. The problem was, I didn't know how the artifact would look, or how big it would be. It could very well be the size of a tiny seed, making it extremely difficult to find.
Should I just clean this room?
That seemed to be a viable option. I could probably find quite a few torn pieces of papers or other random stuff lying around. I am sure that you find this to be quite desperate of me, but the truth of the matter is, I was desperate. I brought a broom from downstairs and started cleaning. I swept every inch of the floor, and I did find a few scraps of paper underneath the bed, but nothing of use. I pulled out the sheets, flapping them to remove anything that might be on them, before folding them neatly, and placing them aside. I took out the pillow covers as well, in case there was something inside. I looked beneath the mattress, which was slightly heavier than I expected it to be, and I did consider taking the bed apart in case there was something inside, but thankfully I didn't act upon that.
I tried to pull the bed away from the wall to check if I missed something on the other side, but even with nothing on it, it was still too heavy. 'Damn it,' I cursed, before putting everything back in its place. I checked my wardrobe next, in case there was something hidden in some corner, or in the pockets of what I wore. I took out every piece of clothing I had, every accessory that might have a hidden pocket in it, and checked them all one by one, but alas, there was nothing. I checked my locker, where I was sure there should be something, since it's where I kept a lot of important stuff, including artifacts, but much to my disappointment, there was nothing there.
'For God's sake, where should I be searching!' I shouted, frustrated. I couldn't find a single thing that would be of use to me. Nothing.
'What are you—huh?'
Lune couldn't have come at a worse time. There I was, standing in the middle of all this dust, with everything scattered everywhere, my wardrobe and locker open, my bedsheet arranged hastily, and a broom right next to me. As for my expression, it was probably a mix of frustration and confusion.
'Sit down.'
'Lune, could you please leave for a moment—'
'Zoras Embers.'
Her gaze was stern as she pointed at the bed. Reluctantly, I obliged. She picked up the broom.
'I'll clean up this mess. Do you want to eat something?'
'Not really.'
'Sure.'
She swept away all the random stuff on the floor, then put everything back in the wardrobe, not before flapping and dusting them, then closed it.
'Get up,' she said, and I obliged.
She pulled out the sheets, then put it back, this time properly.
'Now sit.'
And I did.
I feel like I'm being pushed around.
'I'll make you some soup, so stay put for a while.'
'But I said I'm not hungry—'
'You will stay put and drink the soup I made, understood?'
'Yes ma'am!'
She left the room, taking the broom with her.
'She can be scary.'
That aside, I hadn't found anything that could be of help. Should I just go and ask Mr. Douglas directly?No, that would be far too reckless, but is there anything else that I could do…?
There was something.
I could sneak into his office and check the records…
Was it a good idea? Honestly, I can't tell, but back then I definitely thought it was a better idea than asking him directly. If I had borrowed an artifact, or given him one, then it would be on the records. Of course, it was entirely possible that the interaction was not recorded, but knowing the kind of person Zoras was, the chances of that being the case was very low. He would insist on keeping it recorded. If it wasn't there, it would mean that he removed it afterwards, in which case, there would probably be some sign of something, like a page being torn, or an entry being written over.
One day in and I'm already breaking the law, how wonderful.
'Tonight…'
I sat there, fidgeting my fingers for a bit.
I would be committing a crime.
No matter how small it was, it was still a crime to break into someone's office. Not to mention, from my memories, Mr. Douglas and Zoras were on very good terms. I would be breaking his trust.
No…I'm not Zoras…I need to return to my world. Zoras is, in all likelihood, dead.
Of course, that was nothing more than a justification, an assurance that what I was doing was fine. I couldn't be the least bit certain that Zoras was dead. For all I knew, he could very well be alive somewhere, perhaps even in this body, simply asleep as my consciousness took over. In that case, I would be making things difficult for him as well.
There was still a long while left before midnight struck.
While lost in my realm of thoughts, I heard a knock on my door.
'Yes?'
It was Zoras' sister, holding in her hands a bowl of soup.