Chương 29: Chapter Twenty Eight: No! Send It Back!

He emphasizes each word as he crushes my hopes."Non. Refundable. Purchase. Would you like to greet her?" I answer without hesitation.

"No." There has to be a way out of this. Can't I shove her back into that screen? She snarled from across the room with balled fists.

"I am standing right here. Listening to everything you say. You ungrateful harpy." I turned around towards the unwanted guest in my soul. I. Want. A. Refund. No. I can't accept this. I screeched at the Penguin again and then at the intruder mid-sentence."She's a goddess! This can't be legal—Don't you have to haunt someone somewhere?! You have duties!" She waves her hand carelessly in the air.

"My avatar will take care of that. Anyway, what's your name? You know mine." I debate on the pros and cons of telling her. Whatever. A nickname can't get me cursed right?

"Everyone calls me Ria nowadays." She nods and looks around."Cute. So…down to business. Who are we haunting?" I shake my head no.

"No one. Don't even think about it." She stands there with her mouth agape like she can't fathom that I refuse to let her torture the living.

"..." The Penguin pats my leg."Ria?" I stare down at it annoyed."What?"

"I believe Freesia is trying to wake you."

"Great. Wake me up. Get me out of here." Melinoë screams in her pitchy grating voice.

"No! We haven't discussed what my mission is!" Oh, I'll give you a mission."Be less annoying. Don't cause trouble and under no circumstances are you to damage anything while I'm gone." Penguin gets to work on ejecting me from my soul space as I feel my frustration rise. It's chaos. Complete and utter chaos. I want to go back to reality. I want…

"Rise and shine. Your Highness. It's time to get up." Freesia gently takes the covers from me and lifts me from the cradle as she eyes it in distaste. It's not that bad. She holds me close to her and I yawn into her hair." How did you sleep?" I smack my lips together and remove strands of her hair from around my mouth." I had a nightmare." This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Her hand pauses and then removes its soothing patterns on my back."

Would you like to talk about it?"

"No." I don't think it would do me any good to tell you anyway. Her voice takes on a lighter tone.

"Well. Breakfast is served and I have a full schedule ready for you today."

"Breakfast? This early?" It's still sunny out. I look up at the glass ceiling and note that it's indeed still rather early. Usually, the kitchen takes an hour to send up the food. Which I understand. The kitchen is on another floor and a couple of hallways away from my room. So if you factor in the time it takes to ask for breakfast, cook it, and send it up to the room. It makes sense that it takes so long. She makes an affirmative noise while preparing a basin of water for me to wash my face in.

"Yes. I had Kelly fetch it in advance and it's being warmed in the other room." That explains that but not really. What do you mean warmed? I quirk an eyebrow and take in my room. Which had changed monumentally overnight. The carpet was clean again. Hooray! But all of the furniture had been moved and there were some new additions in the room as well. Nightstands, cabinets, and chests. Is that a bed? Like a human-sized bed for a person! Did she sleep in here?

"Where did that door come from?" To my right was a new door leading to a new room that was not there yesterday. What did she do? She explains like it's normal."I knocked down the wall to the next room and created three extra side rooms for your convenience."

"..." Last night? She did all of that last night? How did no one stop her little renovation spree? Also, what did she knock down the wall with? Freesia dresses me leisurely and then carries me to the next room. It's a little smaller than my bedroom but there's already a couch, coffee table, two end tables, and a fireplace going in there. A fireplace in summer?

"You did this last night?! Wait a minute, who's Kelly?" I can't believe I just skipped over that part. It's too early for this shit. She answers offhandedly." One of your new maids. Would you like to meet them after breakfast?" She sets me down on the couch and I nod in a daze. Is this the couch from the interrogation—I mean the meeting room? I've always liked this couch. So soft. Freesia serves up breakfast on the table while I admire the room. She's good at that.

Every move of hers seems elegant from a layman's perspective. But she doesn't do the pinky thing. I guess that's just an urban myth. Pinkies in folks. She asks smoothly without a hint of contempt in her tone." Can you feed yourself yet?" I nod and she hands me a spoon. Ooh! It's red rice porridge, pinkberry yogurt, and a suspicious-looking purple smoothie. Does she think I can't chew or something? I shrug and decide to eat it anyway. No milk huh? I guess I'm being weaned off. Yay!

My spoon takes a little off the top and delivers itself to my open mouth. Yum! My poor gums ache and I wince as a kernel touches a particularly sore part. Teething sucks. I finish my breakfast under Freesia's gaze. She says nothing in the meantime. She just observes me from the side. It's mildly creepy but I let it go. After I'm done she claps and three women enter through a different door. I think that's the door to the hallway.

"At your service." Kissae and two other women entered the room. In all new clothes too. Gone was Kissae's roguish cloak and brown tunic. Instead, she was wearing black slacks, a tie, and a matching black vest over a white high-collared blouse. She looks like an uncomfortable butler with a sword. She bowed slightly and then leaned against the wall next to her. Her blue hair was fashioned into a messy bun behind her head. Who are the newbies and which one is Kelly?