"Rachael?"
"Yes, Young Master. It's me, Rachael." She replies with that same melodious voice.
I clear my throat. And in an instant, my eyes dart around the room, spotting the rubbish scattered around the ground.
"May I ask what you need?"
As I ask, I stand up immediately, buttoning my brown shirt and arranging my bed with great speed.
"I know your room is messy, young master. You left your room door open this morning." Her melodious voice echoes from behind the door.
"Oh."
"So? May I come in?" She asks.
"Um, yes. Do come in." I reply.
The room door creaks open, and she steps in.
The air in the room changes as she enters. And in a second, the scent in the room contains the mixture of both jasmine and herbs.
I stand still, looking at her with an awkward smile on my face.
She's... she's a mature woman. So this is the only person in this world who cares for Ralyn.
On her face, there are subtle wrinkles. Her sharp green eyes are fixated on me as she holds her waist.
She's dressed in a proper, fitted black and white outfit, her black, black hair covered by a white bonnet.
As I stare at her, I blink. She blinks, too, then her lips stretch wide. A warm smile.
"It's been a while, Ralyn." She speaks, her eyes softening into that warm gaze that only a mother can carry.
What should I say? I'm not the Ralyn you know. I'm..
My right hand finds the back of my neck, scratching an itch that does not exist.
"Yeah. It has." I reply, my voice low, soft, almost inaudible, but she somehow hears me. "Thanks for the books last time."
She walks inside, toward me, as she waves her left hand, "You shouldn't thank me. It's something I enjoy doing. Making your day a little bit more fun." She replies with that same warm, comforting smile on her face.
She's a few inches away from me now. And I just stand, not moving an inch. Not looking her in the eyes. Just staring down and watching her leather shoes make their way through the rubbish on the floor until they finally stop right in front of me.
I feel her two hands on my shoulders.
Her hands are warm.
The hands slide upward, from my shoulder to my neck, from my neck to my cheek, and she brings my face upward, to meet her gaze with mine.
Her eyes they're beautiful. Enchantingly so. But in those eyes lay emotions that words can't convey. And those emotions are channeled from her own eyes into mine.
They say the eyes are the gateways to the soul. I guess whoever said that is right.
Because I can feel it throughout my entire body, the feeling of pity that radiates from her soul.
"You've grown a bit taller. But, you're still lean. I've told you, stop skipping meals." She speaks in that same harsh, scolding tone that a mother speaks with. A tone that they find appropriate to convey their worry. A tone that I never got to hear in my past life.
Tears well up in my eyes.
Ralyn. You have at least one person who cares so deeply for you. You weren't unloved.
I don't reply to her. I just battle the tears that are threatening to fall. And this time, I won. They don't fall off.
Rachael's eyes widen subtly. Her head tilted softly.
"What is it?" I ask, holding her hands that touch my cheeks, and I take them off softly.
She shakes her head, then she mischievously raises her head, her left hand holding her chin, "Hm, you'd usually say 'what's the use of eating if I'm going to die anyway?' by now. So I'm shocked that you're being less childish today."
A small smile tugs at my lips.
That does sound like something Ralyn would say.
"So, what are you really here for?" I ask, my voice slightly higher this time. More stern. "I know you don't come here anymore just for petty talk."
She takes a small step back, clearing her throat as she slowly finds her way back to the door.
"The Patriarch, your father, sends for you." She speaks.
"I see," I reply. "I'd be there soon. Let me prepare myself."
She stands right next to the door, her hands on the handle. Her smile doesn't fade; it only softens. "Do your best, Ralyn. Don't be scared. Soon.. soon, I'll.." She pauses for a second, her eyes meeting mine. Then she mutters something that I can't hear, and she waves me goodbye. "I'll see you later." She says as she walks out, shutting the door softly.
As soon as she exits, I let out a loud exhale, crouching low on the ground.
"What kind of world is this?" I whisper. "It's some kind of supernatural place. What is this 'Chi' that Ralyn wrote about?"
I stood up immediately, and removed my sweat-soaked brown shirt and my whole clothes, stripping naked.
"I've made up my mind." I declare to myself. "I will not die."
"No, it's more like I don't have the guts to kill myself. Partly because I'm a coward, and partly because of Ralyn. I will do him this one single favor and take his body out of this family. And after that, I'll wander around this world until I die naturally of old age."
I nod my head. "Yes. There is more than one way to escape the cage. So before I escape it, I'll find out more about it and just exactly what all this supernatural Chi bullshit is."
As I say this, I walk out of my room, toward the bathroom in my quarters. To freshen up and go meet the Patriarch.
***
I stand at the entrance of the Patriarch's office. The place where Dinan and I stood a few hours ago. Except, this time I'm the only one here. It wasn't hard locating the place on my own as I've been here earlier.
I take a deep breath. Then exhale as I raise my right hand to knock.
Knock~! Knock~!
"Come in."