Silent Intrigue

A Measure of Time

Silence joined the staff for the morning meal. The woman had retired a little after the sun came up, looking tired. She hadn't given him any sort of direction, which was mildly disconcerting. He had decided to leave study for a bit and explore a little more. He couldn't get much further on hunches anyways.

He had found a good portion of the staff in the kitchen, eating and socializing. He hovered in the doorway, unsure of how to jump into this mess. Suddenly, everyone was looking at him. His gaze was drawn to the man who had come in to close the curtains when the man began gesturing at him.

The man's mouth was moving. The others would glance at him every now and then. Silence steeled himself and slipped into the kitchen, moving to get himself some food. When he had collected up a plate, he slowly moved towards the empty space beside the man. He gave a timid smile and glanced at the space inquiringly. The man scowled and shifted to take up more room.

Silence deflated as he was dismissed. The elderly maid across from the man snickered. Others were smiling. He pressed his teeth together and scanned the room for any other seats. There was only one, on a windowsill next to the old man he had met in the stable.

He crept towards the old man, unsure of whether or not he would be accepted. He stopped when the man eyed him. One corner of his mouth twitched up and he glanced pointedly at the space next to the man. The man raised one white brow and looked as well, then slowly looked back at Silence.

Silence grinned when the man rolled his eyes, but made a little more room. He happily plopped down next to the horseman, catching the scent of animals and hay mingled with the hot breakfast. It didn't bother Silence at all.

Silence's smile faded when he looked up and found many in the room staring at him. He startled a little when the old man jerked forward, making an angry face and baring blunt teeth as he moved his mouth. The rest of the staff hurried back to their own conversations.

Silence ducked his head to hide a smile and dug into his breakfast. At least there was one normal person that liked him. One normal person and one monster. It was plenty. And he was determined to work hard and win more friends.

The fanged woman seemed to understand what was wrong with him. Perhaps she would explain it to them and his inability to communicate with them wouldn't irritate them so much. Or maybe he could find a different way of exchanging information. The pictures and the marks on a page had meant something. Perhaps he could learn that method.

He startled awake when he was bumped. The horseman was taking the mostly empty plate from him gruffly and making a shooing motion. Silence bit his lip as he jumped to his feet and started to back away, afraid he had insulted the man or something.

The horseman softened a little. Just enough for Silence to catch it. He carefully smiled as the horseman shooed him again and took the dishes off to be washed. He slipped out of the kitchen without hesitation and headed for the little room of his own.

He happily shut the door behind him and crawled onto the bed. His bed. A bed with a real mattress stuffed with clean straw and a thick blanket that didn't even have any holes in it. It wasn't long at all before he was fast asleep.

When he woke up it was because someone was shaking him. He jerked awake and found the older maid, glaring down at him. The same one that had laughed at him at breakfast. He scrubbed his face and tried to get his thoughts in order. He knew he had been up all night. He was sure it was barely noon.

It didn't really matter. He had slept better then he ever had. He stumbled along as the maid yanked him out of bed and to his feet. She was moving her mouth, irritated at something. It appeared she planned on taking her frustration out on him.