The Chateau (Chateau 1)

I explored the rest of the chateau, which was two stories tall. It was like stepping into a history book, moving through narrow staircases, outdated bathrooms, the hard stone covered with rugs that seemed just as ancient as when the place was built. The bedrooms had four-poster beds with comforters with floral prints. When I ran my hand across them, dust covered my palm until it was black.

This place was extremely untouched.

There were old paintings on the walls, mainly of landscapes, or French aristocracy long before the new world had been fully explored. I searched through the house and examined everything because I had nothing else to do.

Every time I went upstairs, Rose waited at the bottom and remained until I returned.

I hoped to find a laptop or cell phone. The only people I could call right now were the police, and I didn’t even know where I was to give them directions. Magnus said he would return me to Paris, so that seemed pointless. But I did have friends who were worried about me, so they’d like to know I was okay. But I didn’t have their numbers memorized, so that wouldn’t work either. Using the internet to send someone a message would be my best chance at contact.

But I didn’t find anything.

I discovered the room Magnus used because it was the only room in the house where the bed was unmade. It was a master suite with its own bathroom, and it had windows that overlooked the tree line. I pulled back the curtains to take a look from this elevation.

In the daylight, I could see the trees and the plains. I could even see the river. But everything beyond that was a blur. There were patches of snow everywhere because it was too cold to melt it all away, and a lot of the trees still had the white powder on their branches. I closed the curtain then explored the closet.

It was empty.

Then I started opening the drawers in the dressers.

There was some clothing, but not much.

There were a couple pairs of fresh boxers, so I pulled one on. I found black sweatpants, so I put a pair of those on too, along with a gray t-shirt. Everything draped down my body like a curtain, and the pants struggled to stay up, so I had to tie them as tight as possible and make a double knot to keep them in place.

He had toiletries in the bathroom, like a razor, shaving cream, shampoo and conditioner, a comb, and a hair dryer. The chateau had mirrors in every bathroom, so it was the first time I actually saw my own image.

I didn’t recognize myself.

The weight loss had changed the shape of my face. The fatigue caused slight bags under my eyes. The direct sunlight for hours at a time gave my skin a tan I didn’t normally have. When I lifted up my shirt to see my stomach, I saw the outline of a six-pack, a curvature of my body that made me look ready for the beach. I’d never been in shape in my entire life, so it was a different look for me. When I turned around to look at my back, I stilled at all the scars from where I’d healed. I was covered in bumps and streaks from the way the loose skin healed together.

It was ugly.

I didn’t look again.

I should be thankful I was alive. I should be thankful I escaped.

My appearance was insignificant.

I took advantage of the toiletries to really wash my hair, comb it, and dry it.

My hair felt so much lighter. It framed my face differently and improved my looks too.

It made me feel like me again…a bit.

I looked through the kitchen and made whatever I could find. The food wasn’t as good as it was at the camp, but I’d gladly eat expired soup as a free woman than a gourmet meal made by my captors.

I came across a bag of carrots. There was no expiration date, but they weren’t covered in mold, so they seemed good enough to me. “What do you think?” I pulled out a carrot to show it to Rose.

She neighed.

“Let me wash them first.” I stood at the kitchen counter and scrubbed each one to make sure it was clean before I patted them dry and fed them to her.

She ate quickly and went through the whole bag in a couple minutes.

“Good?”

Her nostrils released a loud sigh.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

I spent my evenings downstairs in front of the fire. I’d found other hearths in the house with dried wood sitting inside, so I confiscated those to use for myself. It was so cold and wet outside that I doubted I would find any dry wood that would burn and not create a ton of dark smoke, so I didn’t bother with that.