Jenkins' words slowly began to drift through her mind as she tried to remember why it might not be where she thought it would be.
This door is one of three that lead to the Main House. This is the backmost door and leads to the more private areas of the Main House. The middle door will lead to the completely secure inner section. And finally, the frontmost leads to the public areas.
Ah. That was the problem then. Medinador, like some overexcited puppy, had dumped her at the middle door. Most likely so he could get back to Elvira as soon as possible.
"Look, when I said I was looking forward to doing as much exploring as I could, I didn't fucking mean I wanted to treasure hunt my way back to the godsdamn bedroom this very night!"
Pushing the newly dubbed 'middle door' closed behind herself, Delphina dryly wiped her hands down her face. Causing it to distort as she looked up to the ceiling.
********
"I just had to even think about exploring, ugh, how does Jenkins even make way around this place?"
Delphina had been wandering the various halls and corridors for some time at this point. Initially following the ceiling for the decorative frescoes or carvings she recognised, she had hoped that muddling her way back would at least be possible by doing so.
By now, she had to admit it, she was wrong.
"The only thing I can think of is that some rooms link up to corridors that aren't accessible from where I currently am…"
Having exclusively avoided stepping into different rooms to keep track of the changes in the ceiling, she had managed to make it to the point where there was only the old carved wooden panelling above her head.
Delphina considered this partially a success. However, as the light was growing dimmer by the minute, she was not entirely confident of making it back to her new bedroom anytime soon.
A strangely warm yet eerie atmosphere had begun to arise, as only the wall-mounted lamps provided a dim orange glow, and the blue night had started to truly creep in.
She was practically stalking predatorily down the corridor she had started on- skin prickling with unease and eyes darting nervously.
"Eesh, I thought that being a Sword Master meant my eyesight would be pristine in low-lighting. What's the point in being able to see the shadows clearly if they're still shadows?"
As soon as there was a lack of lighting, the walls would dip into heavy darkness. Rendering doors, corridor offshoots, and even decorations to just sketch-like outlines. Driving Delphina's frustration higher, as fatigue was slowly giving way to outright bone-deep tiredness.
Delphina finally stopped at an intersection, a huff escaping her lips as she simply flopped to the floor in exasperation. Lying on the floor in the now total darkness, she wondered if passing out here might just actually be an option.
"Jenkkiinnnsssss! Why have you forsaken meeeee!"
Dramatically calling out lest Jenkins was even able to hear her, Delphina kicked at the floor like a tantrum-loving two-year-old. How was she supposed to find Jenkins in the first place? There had to be a way to call the automata if their services were needed remotely. But those blasted memories didn't cover that.
Having only exhausted herself further for a moment of childish fun, she felt a little stupid.
"Godsdamn, I feel like a silly prick. Who even gets lost like this in their own remote and totally convoluted wing of a giant castle…"
Chuckling lowly and sitting herself back up, she ignored the raised hairs on her arms.
"Thinking about it, I don't think I'm doing too badly. But seriously, where do I go from here? Continue on the same corridor and risk being here all night, take this very dark and dangerous-looking offshoot that definitely doesn't look like there might be a problem. Or keep figuring out a way to remotely summon my little butler ball."
Neatly crossing her legs and propping her chin up with both arms, Delphina stared intently down the corridor offshoot. Her Sword Master senses were tingling, and she didn't like the fact that she couldn't identify the reason for it.
Monster? Ghost, spirit, or phantom? Mysterious Fae or even some ephemeral being? She'd been around long enough to figure out what those felt to her. But this? It just put her on edge, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.
She felt watched.
The longer she looked down the offshoot, the more sketchy outlines she could make out. Senses straining to detect what might be ahead, what might be the cause of her unease. She felt like she was pushing herself to see something that might not even be there.
"Is this what Medinador was talking about?" Delphina could only muse to herself about the possibility; she was probably just projecting. Whatever it was, it wasn't visible to the naked eye.
Looking up to check the ceiling, she could see the wooden carvings from before. Wherever that offshoot led, it seemed it was closer to the bedroom than here.
Because of course it would be.
In the distance, a muffled clanging noise had suddenly started up, causing her to jolt up into standing. Poised, ready to run if necessary, Delphina felt wildly on edge. But as the clanging subsided, so did her nerves.
Then, a much quieter chiming began. And as they started to echo it almost induced further sleepiness in the listener.
"Is that, clock chimes?"
Following the sound, Delphina was lured down the offshoot and into the darkness. Feet sinking into the thick shag rug, her footsteps were silent as she cautiously made her way.
She wasn't an idiot. The situation practically screamed 'this is a trap' to her. But if she had to head this way, she might as well check out the situation.
Shrugging to herself, Delphina kept an eye on the outline of the doors as she passed them, just in case any were partially or fully open. The sound of the chimes were drowsy, and with the echoing, it was difficult for her to pinpoint where they were coming from.
The blue tones of the night, along with the almost pitch black shadows, were making it difficult to see if anything might trip her up. But by dragging her feet along the carpet, she could feel when a cabinet or statue might stick out into her path and adjust accordingly.
Eventually, she came to the end of the offshoot, and the chimes became louder. Delphina could tell it was a grandfather clock that was tolling out midnight.
"It's midnight already. How long have I been walking for? Ugh, it seems like I'll have to search for which room connects to the bedroom corridor from here anyway… Might as well take a look at that clock whilst I can."
Perhaps it was the bone-wearyness clouding her mind, or the sweet and gentle chimes luring her to slumber quickly. But Delphina truly felt a compulsion to find the clock and turn it the fuck off.