Backlund, the Capital of Capitals, the Land of Hope.
It's much more depressing than I thought.
After walking for a while, for her house was quite far from the main street, even if it was numbered, she slowed down her pace taking in the scenery.
The streets were empty of beggars, which surprised her for a few moments before catching a glimpse of one getting shunned away by a police officer.
In order to keep the streets clean these harsh measures were taken.
It reminds me of anti-homeless public places.They would find the strangest ways just to make sure poor people don't sleep.
She remarked in her mind. It seems other worlds are not so different.
Were it not for the multiple deities, cults and customs, she would've simply thought she time traveled in the Victorian Era, in the body of one of her ancestors.
Fortunately that's not the case.
She continued her slow pace, noting all of the glances thrown around by the passers-by. Most of them are men.
Loen was known to be conservative, so an elegant lady, dressed in a non revealing long dress will still catch glances, but she wasn't approached at all.
Like an expensive gem at a jewelry shop, she could only be admired by the poor and bought by the rich.
That is how the world worked.
About an hour passed of just walking and thinking about her current predicament.
With time, her feet started to hurt.
Damned heels!
There were some benches to sit around, but she didn't really feel like sitting down. Instead, the pale woman stopped in front of an abandoned building.
What other place is as interesting as this?
Abandoned buildings held history, feelings, and most importantly, a place away from prying eyes.
She looked around, for other people, noticing a young child holding his mother's hand while eating ice-cream.
His unusual eyes looked at her deeply,as if taking in each detail on her face, then he shook his head in a dejected manner, his lips appearing to be murmuring.
Huh? Is there something on my face?
She took a small make-up mirror from the purse she carried around, not seeing anything out of the ordinary, apart from her eyebags.
Well, whatever.
She ignored the child, who, by this time, turned around, and walked inside the building.
The place was—run down, of course.
Scattered debris, glass shards poking out of it, and some burned candles, dangerously close to the decayed carpet.
And most notably—blood. Dried blood to be exact.
This building wasn't just some random one that collapsed due to poor infrastructure, instead it was a chapel disguised as one.
She still remembers Evelyn reading the newspaper, where it boisterously announced how a cult of heretics were 'handled' by the authorities.
They weren't handled. They were completely annihilated!
The list of victims wasn't public, but there must've been quite a few, judging by the state of the place.
And they put up a good fight.
Or they were blasted down with a cannon before even realizing they were caught.
The way authorities handle heretics is quite violent.
If you don't believe in the standard orthodox deities, you're a goner.
Sadly, that was reality. It's not like she disagreed with their views but taking things to this scale seemed too much.
But it wasn't her place to talk. She was a woman after all. A self-deprecating smile appeared on her pale face.
I think that's it for today. If I stay a little more, mom will get anxious.
With that, she turned on her heel and walked out of the bloody chapel, not seeing the strange child anymore.
***
The Dusk mansion has never looked this clean in ages! Everything was in its place, laundry clean, floors neat, and sparkling windows.
And most importantly, nothing of matter was moved from its place. Harold took care of the last inspection for that.
Miss Daly will arrive tomorrow.
She silently hoped that Daly would find something, not to cause her house any harm. But, to get rid of possible influence and be done with it.
Maybe that would even stop my nightmares.
There wasn't any guarantee for that, but a woman can only hope.
Admiring the neat work of the maids, Amanises stopped before the bowing housekeeper, Joanna.
"Did you get your paycheck from my desk?"
She asked her.
Joanna bowed even further, replying in a grateful voice.
"Yes, madam. I can only be thankful."
Amanises smiled lightly, then continued to walk by, adding nothing more.
She was tired.
Her duties for today were all done. Everything she had in mind was accomplished, and all that's left is to get some rest.
A yawn involuntarily escaped her.
Yeah, she really needed some rest.
My mind has been doing acrobatics ever since I got here.
She was stopped in her tracks by her personal maid, Laura.
"My lady, would you like some tea before bed?"
"Hmmm." She contemplated. "I could even get some snacks too."
"I will do so, after preparing you a bath—"
Laura felt a hand being put on her shoulder, one from another maid.
"I'll prepare the bath. You go and make the tea and prepare the snacks, we wouldn't want to cut our lady her well deserved rest."
She stated with a wide smile, happy to help put Evelyn into bed early.
"Oh. Alright!" Laura wasn't one to argue.
Amanises spoke in a passive tone.
"Notify when it's ready, I'll be with my mother in the meantime."
"Understood!" The other maid replied like a soldier who was given a command by their captain.
Amanises walked up to the other side on the second floor, opposite of the one her room was placed.
At the end of the hallway was a wide bedroom, filled with all sorts of trinkets her mother had collected all over the years.
She was a fan of being a hoarder of useless stuff. But that made her happy, so Amanises wasn't one to judge.
The door was opened, so she walked in seeing her mother seated at her vanity, staring at her own reflection in the big mirror.
"I'm getting older." She remarked, noticing Evelyn out of the corner of her eye.
"The passage of time is inevitable." Amanises responded.
Victoria got up and walked towards her.
"You're already independent, I'm proud of you, my daughter. I don't have to worry about my death, especially while having such a precious gem."
Amanises simply let them smile come off her face, adding in a lower but assuring tone.
"It's too early to think about the end, mother. Even if we lose this house, we have savings to last us a lifetime. We can live like ordinary people."
Victoria embraced her daughter, who reciprocated the gesture.
"What would I do without you, eh?" She said with a chuckle.
"I still remember my rebellious little one. Who refused to wear dresses, seeing them as too classy!"
Evelyn made a dramatic gesture, and exclaimed.
"Mother! That was so long ago!"
Victoria let go and looked at her daughter one more time, before saying.
"Go, your bath is ready."
Evelyn turned her head and saw the maid standing in the doorway. She didn't want to disturb the duo, but failed ridiculously.
"That's right, my lady." She nodded.
"Alright." Evelyn turned to her mother. "Goodnight, mom!"
But Victoria was already tucking herself into bed. "Goodnight, dear, sweet dreams!"
I sure hope so. Amanises silently lampooned.
***
Surprisingly, she didn't have the same nightmare that night. Her dream, however, was strange nonetheless.
She walked a path of nothingness. Absent-mindedly making step after step.
What?
Clarity returned to her mind when she felt a sharp pain in her foot.
This caused her to wake up.
She was standing. Standing by the same river she drowned in before.
What the fuck?!
Her hands started trembling.
This must still be the dream right? Right?!
But unfortunately, the sharp pain didn't let her continue the delusion.
Panic overfilled her mind. She didn't wait for someone to come rescue her again.
Instead, she started running, running as if her life depended on it. That might as well have been the case.
By this point, she memorized the way back from her previous involuntary trip.
She ran and ran. Stopping for breaths, but never lingering for too long before running again.
The roads were filled with cracks and stoned, her feet hurt, but she never stopped.
Until, she was at the gate.
Everything was dark, not a single candlelight in the distance.
She opened the gate and walked through it, slowly, almost tip toeing. Heart pounding in her chest.
Her foot stepped in a black viscous liquid but she couldn't identify what it was just from vision alone.
Until, the sharp smell of iron filled her nostrils.
The clouds parted making way for the blood red moonlight. Step by step it was basking the front yard of the mansion in a crimson glow.
Her eyes widened, pupil became smaller than a grain of salt. Heart stopped beating for a good couple of seconds.
She stepped in the pool of blood from a headless corpse of a maid. It wasn't a clean cut, but instead, a goresome torn apart body. Bone splintered and nerves disconnected.
And not more than two meters in the distance was the head.
It was her personal maid, Laura.