Ch. 15: Odd-Eyed Woman

                                    

                                          
TWO DAYS! TWO FUCKING DAYS TO GET TO THE CAPITAL! AND I HAD TO GO THROUGH TWELVE HOURS OF COACH TRAVEL! WHAT THE FUCK?! WHERE THE FUCK ARE THE PLANES?! THE TRAINS?! WHERE THE FUCK ARE MY NAMESAKE TRAINS?! I'm used to going on twelve-hour trips, sure– it was a normal part of my life, BUT ROUGHING IT OUT ON THE COUNTRY ROADS IS TORTURE! COACH TRAVEL DOES NOT HAVE A CRUISE TIME WHERE YOU CAN JUST RELAX! WHY IS THIS WORLD SO PRIMITIVE?!!
"Ugh..." I think I got a headache from all the bumps in the road. I finally got the chance to get out of the carriage and breathe in some fresh air. I thought I would get to sleep and recharge, BUT UNFORTUNATELY NOT! I was wide awake the whole time on the road, with nothing to do except look out the window and get quizzed by Alfred about my make-up lessons!
"Are you alright, Master Julius?" Alfred suddenly asked, and I looked at him as I continued to massage my forehead. He stood just a few feet away from me, supervising the estate servants who were bringing all the luggage inside.
"I'll be fine. I just don't like being out in the road for too long," I answered groggily. Sure, we got to stop at cities in-between during our trip, but the road time between stops was– at minimum, six hours, and we ended up arriving in the capital over a whole day and a half later!
"I suppose that hasn't changed. You've never liked travelling long distances since you were a child after all, Master Julius." Alfred chuckled, likely reminiscing and looking back at memories fondly– when his face went white as a sheet as he was hit by a realization of something, and he was immediately apologetic, "I deeply apologize, Master Julius. I was being insensitive."
"Oh yeah, that happened, didn't it?" I immediately figured why he was sorry. My parents died while we were on our way back to Hazeldean, in the middle of a long trip like the one we just took. My memory of details preceding and after the incident are vague, so I had to get that bit of info from Alfred before, albeit with some persuasion.
"Yes, I apologize for my insensitivity." He apologized a second time.
"Don't worry about it, Alfred. I barely remember it anyways." HA! Amnesia joke. Of course, I remember the incident clearly, it's one of the few memories I recovered of my past as Julius. I lied to console Alfred since he sounds sincerely sorry.
"Hmm, it'll be fine if I head to my room first, right, Alfred?" I changed the topic and asked Alfred, and he quickly switched back to his more usual, professional self.
"Yes, of course, Master Julius. You needn't wait for me." He replied.
"I'll get changed in the meantime. The servants are bringing my dinner to my room, right?" I asked Alfred as I spun my wheelchair towards the estate entrance, and he answered me promptly.
"They have been informed of our approximate time of arrival so they should have dinner prepared for you already." He told me.
"Mhm, seems like it's a good time for dinner. I'll head over there first, Alfred." I told him as I began wheeling myself away, but I stopped as I was faced by a small— really, a tiny physical hurdle. Nothing too big, nothing too huge— just a whole flight of stairs! Where the fuck is the ramp?! They should have had enough time to make this estate's entrances wheelchair-accessible, right? So where is my ramp?!
I let out a sigh, and I turned my wheelchair around and asked, "Alfred, you said the estate's kitchen staff had been informed of my arrival, did the rest of the estate happen to be informed about my wheelchair situation as well?"
Alfred turned to me confused, then he looked up at the flight of stairs leading to the estate's entrance— then to the sides of said flight of stairs, before his eyes widened as he realized, "I-I'm positive I had included details of your need of a wheelchair in my letter to the estate. Lord Phillippe should have known about you wheelchair situation as well, h-he– it might have possibly slipped his mind. I sincerely apologize for this oversight."