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One single, grey eye slowly cracked open. The lid moving at a slow pace, ready to slam shut should light even think about entering. And if any noise could be made from a movement of the eye such as this one, it would be the quiet creak you hear from an old wooden door opening. But there was no noise, only silence. And there was no light, only darkness. So when that single eye was fully open, and no light thought to blind it, the other one followed it’s lead and opened as well, although much more quickly. The nose that sat below those two, smoky eyes, twitched as a sniffle ran through it. And the mouth below that nose stretched like a cat as a small, high-pitched yawn escaped from its dark caverns. The eyes blinked, the nose sniffled again, and the mouth came to a close. The eyes went about their own business as the mouth and nose stayed frozen. The grey gaze danced across the room, snapping from corner to corner, from object to object. The eyes found nothing of great interest in their dance about the room, for there wasn't much to be seen in the open space. There were a few scattered chairs, an empty dresser, and the piano.
Arietta stretched out the rest of her body and turned her eyes away from the beckoning piano. Pillows surrounded her, and a few were knocked onto the floor beside her as she let her limbs stretch out to their full, and maximum length. The comforter seemed to look fine, as if nothing was sleeping beneath it, but the sheets were of another matter entirely. The soft, thin sheets that laid under the plush comforter had been mangled into a state beyond recognition. They were twisted and turned in this way and that, tangling themselves about the legs that distorted their being. But Arietta seemed to be unconcerned with all of this and merely untangled her legs as she pushed herself into a sitting position and out of the bed.
When her feet hit the cold hard-wood floor, she couldn't help the involuntary shiver that ran up and down her spine. But she paid this no mind as well and walked over to the empty dresser. She had finally gotten her first real night of sleep since, well since she came to the sepia city. She had been out as soon as she slipped under the covers. Even the after dinner she had had with Jason didn't bother her mind as it was pulled under into the inky darkness of dreams.
Arietta didn't remember much after that conversation. The events of that night following dinner seemed to somewhat blur together. Nothing of great importance happened though, but she was confused as to how it was she managed to find her way up the stairs and into bed. She ran a hand over her face, and then through her hair, trying to wake herself up a bit more. Her hand clutched the edge of the dresser as she looked down at the surface. Her clothes had been washed, folded, and set on top of the old piece of furniture. Her right hand picked up the shirt, but slowly let the deep blue fabric run through its fingers and back onto the dresser. She really wished she had other clothes to wear, but she supposed it didn't really matter what she wore or did not wear.
So she slipped out of the long night gown and put her own clothes back on. She did admit, having clean clothes that actually fit her properly was a fantastic feeling. She pondered over whether or not to put on her shoes, but decided against it. They would add noise to the house which was not there before she had arrived. It may have been a small noise, and the house wasn't being swarmed by guards, but she didn't want to take any chances at all with the Montgomery family.
She wandered over to the piano and stared at it for a while, her gaze running over the curves of the beautiful instrument. It was so upsetting to have it sit there, and watch her. But, having it not be there would have been worse, she thought at least, because she wouldn't have a single connection to her world, aside from the memories locked away inside her mind. As she made her way towards the door, she ran her fingers over the ivory keys. But she was careful not the put any pressure on the keys, so as to not release any music into the world.
Her days at the Montgomery house passed without much excitement. She would wander about the rooms aimlessly for hours, a book in hand, while the cover remained open on the first page. She never did end up reading anything, she planned to, but her mind seemed to wander before she could even glance at the words and she forgot that she was holding a book altogether. On occasion she would see Molly watching her, although she didn't quite know what it was the girl was planning on seeing.
The sirens now seemed to sound much less frequently than when she first arrived. Gabriel had stopped by a few days after leaving her there. He spoke mostly to Jason and paid her no mind. It didn't bother her much; she was sure he didn't have anything to say that she didn't already know. But, when she found him munching on a sandwich in the kitchen, she couldn't help the question which popped into her head.
"So, why does it sound like there are less um... sirens?" Gabriel looked up at her, mouth full of food, and gave her a look as if she were stupid to have not known the answer to this already. But his expression was so ridiculous, with his cheeks puffed up like a chipmunk, that she couldn't help the small laugh which bubbled up and out of her mouth. This only made him furrow his brow, adding to the overall hilarity of the situation. Arietta clamped a hand over her mouth and wrapped the other arm around her waist as she waited for a reply.
"One of the gates has been closed. So we aren't seeing as many outsiders as we were before. Would you wipe the smile off your face?" he mumbled around his food, not bothering to finish before taking another bite. Arietta didn't press on about the matter, and puzzled over it instead. She wasn't sure what he had meant by 'gates', for she hadn't seen any while entering the city. And, she supposed that if a gate were closed then no outsiders could get in. But that wouldn't mean they would see less of them. The entire thing gave her a headache, so she tried not to think about it much.
And as a result, she ended up talking to him about God knows what. She couldn't even remember half of their conversation. But she knew that most of it was about insignificant, trivial things that didn't truly matter. But she needed someone to talk to. She had gone to long without a real, honest-to-goodness conversation. She it was a relief when she was able to open her mouth and let words tumble out, almost as if she had been holding in a breath but hadn't been able to let it out. She wasn't quite sure why Gabriel spoke with her though. Perhaps it was for the same reason, he needed someone to talk to, and she was standing right there blabbering away.
They talked for a good long while, but eventually Gabriel had to leave. Arietta bade him farewell and went about wandering the rooms for the period before dinner. And out of the corner of her eye, she could see Molly watching her again as she chuckled to herself. This conversation seemed to have restored a bit of her strength, and she picked up a book, actually reading a few pages before Molly pulled her away to dinner.
She talked a bit with Molly during dinner, just about what she had done during school that day. For Molly did attend school, though it was much shorter and different from Arietta's remembrance of school. Perhaps it was because it was the girl's first year, and she was quite young to begin attending school. She was only four, which for the sepia city was a young age to begin learning, but Molly was smart. Very smart. And she had an old soul, so Arietta didn't think about her age much.
Jason seemed content to ignore her while she and Molly spoke, but after the little girl was sent off to bed, he seemed perfectly... well not happy, but perfectly willing to start a conversation with her. It seemed it was a day of talking for Arietta, but she wasn't about to complain about it, she missed having real conversations. But then again, Jason didn't care much for talk about inconsequential things as she and Gabriel had. They talked about the outsiders, and the supernatural abilities which were gifted to certain individuals.
It was nothing Arietta hadn't heard before, but Jason went a bit more in depth. He gave specific names, and recounted certain, important events. But when Arietta left the table, she couldn't shake the feeling that everything he had just told her meant absolutely nothing, and that there was more to the situation that he wasn't letting on about.
Arietta stretched out the rest of her body and turned her eyes away from the beckoning piano. Pillows surrounded her, and a few were knocked onto the floor beside her as she let her limbs stretch out to their full, and maximum length. The comforter seemed to look fine, as if nothing was sleeping beneath it, but the sheets were of another matter entirely. The soft, thin sheets that laid under the plush comforter had been mangled into a state beyond recognition. They were twisted and turned in this way and that, tangling themselves about the legs that distorted their being. But Arietta seemed to be unconcerned with all of this and merely untangled her legs as she pushed herself into a sitting position and out of the bed.
When her feet hit the cold hard-wood floor, she couldn't help the involuntary shiver that ran up and down her spine. But she paid this no mind as well and walked over to the empty dresser. She had finally gotten her first real night of sleep since, well since she came to the sepia city. She had been out as soon as she slipped under the covers. Even the after dinner she had had with Jason didn't bother her mind as it was pulled under into the inky darkness of dreams.
Arietta didn't remember much after that conversation. The events of that night following dinner seemed to somewhat blur together. Nothing of great importance happened though, but she was confused as to how it was she managed to find her way up the stairs and into bed. She ran a hand over her face, and then through her hair, trying to wake herself up a bit more. Her hand clutched the edge of the dresser as she looked down at the surface. Her clothes had been washed, folded, and set on top of the old piece of furniture. Her right hand picked up the shirt, but slowly let the deep blue fabric run through its fingers and back onto the dresser. She really wished she had other clothes to wear, but she supposed it didn't really matter what she wore or did not wear.
So she slipped out of the long night gown and put her own clothes back on. She did admit, having clean clothes that actually fit her properly was a fantastic feeling. She pondered over whether or not to put on her shoes, but decided against it. They would add noise to the house which was not there before she had arrived. It may have been a small noise, and the house wasn't being swarmed by guards, but she didn't want to take any chances at all with the Montgomery family.
She wandered over to the piano and stared at it for a while, her gaze running over the curves of the beautiful instrument. It was so upsetting to have it sit there, and watch her. But, having it not be there would have been worse, she thought at least, because she wouldn't have a single connection to her world, aside from the memories locked away inside her mind. As she made her way towards the door, she ran her fingers over the ivory keys. But she was careful not the put any pressure on the keys, so as to not release any music into the world.
Her days at the Montgomery house passed without much excitement. She would wander about the rooms aimlessly for hours, a book in hand, while the cover remained open on the first page. She never did end up reading anything, she planned to, but her mind seemed to wander before she could even glance at the words and she forgot that she was holding a book altogether. On occasion she would see Molly watching her, although she didn't quite know what it was the girl was planning on seeing.
The sirens now seemed to sound much less frequently than when she first arrived. Gabriel had stopped by a few days after leaving her there. He spoke mostly to Jason and paid her no mind. It didn't bother her much; she was sure he didn't have anything to say that she didn't already know. But, when she found him munching on a sandwich in the kitchen, she couldn't help the question which popped into her head.
"So, why does it sound like there are less um... sirens?" Gabriel looked up at her, mouth full of food, and gave her a look as if she were stupid to have not known the answer to this already. But his expression was so ridiculous, with his cheeks puffed up like a chipmunk, that she couldn't help the small laugh which bubbled up and out of her mouth. This only made him furrow his brow, adding to the overall hilarity of the situation. Arietta clamped a hand over her mouth and wrapped the other arm around her waist as she waited for a reply.
"One of the gates has been closed. So we aren't seeing as many outsiders as we were before. Would you wipe the smile off your face?" he mumbled around his food, not bothering to finish before taking another bite. Arietta didn't press on about the matter, and puzzled over it instead. She wasn't sure what he had meant by 'gates', for she hadn't seen any while entering the city. And, she supposed that if a gate were closed then no outsiders could get in. But that wouldn't mean they would see less of them. The entire thing gave her a headache, so she tried not to think about it much.
And as a result, she ended up talking to him about God knows what. She couldn't even remember half of their conversation. But she knew that most of it was about insignificant, trivial things that didn't truly matter. But she needed someone to talk to. She had gone to long without a real, honest-to-goodness conversation. She it was a relief when she was able to open her mouth and let words tumble out, almost as if she had been holding in a breath but hadn't been able to let it out. She wasn't quite sure why Gabriel spoke with her though. Perhaps it was for the same reason, he needed someone to talk to, and she was standing right there blabbering away.
They talked for a good long while, but eventually Gabriel had to leave. Arietta bade him farewell and went about wandering the rooms for the period before dinner. And out of the corner of her eye, she could see Molly watching her again as she chuckled to herself. This conversation seemed to have restored a bit of her strength, and she picked up a book, actually reading a few pages before Molly pulled her away to dinner.
She talked a bit with Molly during dinner, just about what she had done during school that day. For Molly did attend school, though it was much shorter and different from Arietta's remembrance of school. Perhaps it was because it was the girl's first year, and she was quite young to begin attending school. She was only four, which for the sepia city was a young age to begin learning, but Molly was smart. Very smart. And she had an old soul, so Arietta didn't think about her age much.
Jason seemed content to ignore her while she and Molly spoke, but after the little girl was sent off to bed, he seemed perfectly... well not happy, but perfectly willing to start a conversation with her. It seemed it was a day of talking for Arietta, but she wasn't about to complain about it, she missed having real conversations. But then again, Jason didn't care much for talk about inconsequential things as she and Gabriel had. They talked about the outsiders, and the supernatural abilities which were gifted to certain individuals.
It was nothing Arietta hadn't heard before, but Jason went a bit more in depth. He gave specific names, and recounted certain, important events. But when Arietta left the table, she couldn't shake the feeling that everything he had just told her meant absolutely nothing, and that there was more to the situation that he wasn't letting on about.
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