After so long in a dreamland of blackness, Lydia was annoyed to feel light on the other side of her eyelids, and the slightest creaks act as the clap of thunder that woke her.

Still half asleep, Lydia only cringed and looked up with blurry eyes, finding the roof of her room above.

What if it was all just a bad dream?

Lydia felt hope and light spark within, thinking it may just be true, and this long hell was behind her as nothing but a nightmare. This could be the roof of her old bedroom, and her mother was at her bedside with a candle in hand, waiting to comfort her and reassure her that it wasn’t real.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!"

Unfortunately, she was just brought back to her dreadful reality.

This was the roof of a room in Aetherius Manerij. The voice belonged to a strange girl she barely knew, and this was not candlelight. While electric lighting was mainly a luxury for the first-class, Lydia found the harsh luminesce to be irritating, almost blinding. Not warm or soft, like the glow of a small flame.

One day I'm happy at home, the next I'm stuck in prison, and now this...I don't even know what to call it. Whatever it is, it's not home in the slightest.

Even though she just wanted to slink back to her dark dreamland, Lydia forced herself to sit up before Hinata would decide to pull her out of bed. After wiping the sleep from her eyes, trying to ignore the annoying voice, Lydia suddenly found a tray of breakfast placed before her. It wasn’t much of a feast, though.

"Not much, I know," said Hinata. "We've been running low on supplies. That should be fixed by tonight, though, so don't worry about having the same problem at dinner."

Lydia only nodded in response. She still found Hinata to be annoying; her voice, her behaviour, and even her appearance. By appearance, she meant the crazy outfits that hurt her eyes. Today, it was an emerald knee-length dress with gold trim and a gold sash about the waist. On her legs were stockings with black and white stripes, while she also had gold bracelets and anklets to match.

“Now, today should be simple," Hinata started. “You’ll find that I hardly ever will make you do anything, and today’s request is rather easy, even fun. I only want you to get used to the manor and acquainted with the patients. The sooner you recognize this place as a home of sorts, the sooner you’ll be comfortable enough to start recovering.”

Lydia hid her cringe. Socializing? I think I'd prefer to go back to the jail cell.

"Once you finish your breakfast,” Hinata continued, “You can proceed with that. As I said, your welcome to wander the estate to your heart’s content, save for the third floor. The other patients are usually scattered, but most will be in the parlour at some point, so that’s the best place to go.”

"Don't you have any other task for me?" Asked Lydia.

Hinata smiled tauntingly, probably to hide some irritation. "Now don't be negative, Lydia. We have to be sure that everyone gets along. If you keep yourself isolated, you become a pariah. Become a pariah, and the others will treat you that way. Believe me when I say that we have enough rivalries without making more, and tension is bad. Remember, you’ll be living with most of these people for what could be a few months to a few years.”

Lydia discreetly groaned, but didn’t bother arguing any further.

I might as well do what she says, if I want to stay on her good side. Things won't go smoothly if the doctor doesn't like me.

“There’s just one more thing,” Hinata explained. “The matter of questions and help, which I’m sure you’ll have or need. Obviously, the other patients have been here long enough to lend a hand with that, and the staff is always there at your disposal. If all else fails, I’ll happily step in and answer to the best of my ability. Although, in that scenario, I must ask you to be patient. Eight patients mean eight times the work, as you can surely imagine.”

Lydia bitterly thought, What work? Deciding who’s craziest? She sighed aloud, "Yes, I'll do that."

"Thank you," Hinata replied. "Alright, then, I'll let you enjoy your meal in peace. Good day!"

That being said, Hinata spun on her heels and dashed through the door, which slammed shut behind her. She had disappeared as suddenly as she came.

Lydia sighed, staring down at the breakfast still placed before her. It was just two eggs, a scone, some mushrooms, and a glass of water. Sure enough, Lydia felt the small ache that came with her stomach's emptiness, and yet she had no urge to eat. Ever since she had been accused, anything she ate or drank tasted like the thing that made her stomach churn. Blood; the disgusting, powerful metallic tang of filthy blood.

Lydia quickly shook her head clear of thought, even though she could've sworn seeing red for a moment. She wanted the thought to disappear from her head, sick of having it rot her brain.

As such, she forced herself to take a bite out of the scone, focusing on its real flavour instead of the one her mind wanted her to taste. Still shaken, she took another bite, and it began to get better. No more bloody, metallic taste in her mouth, though she still had to fight the lasting thought in the back of her mind as she kept eating.

By the time she was finished, it was seven-thirty. Lydia changed into one of the dresses in the wardrobe; a very basic white one with a brown cord about the waist and laced across the bodice.

These clothes are very basic, yet comfortable...I like it. This is more like home.

Taking a deep breath, Lydia hesitantly went to the door. It took a moment before she worked up the nerve to open it.

When she did, she stepped into the empty corridor, proceeding to the bathroom at the end of the hall; right of her door. Once she brushed her teeth with a labelled toothbrush and combed out her hardly-frizzy hair, she went back to the hallway and stopped at the main room. It wasn't being lost that stopped her, though. It was her curiosity.

Should I...

Lydia glanced over her shoulder, finding the barred-off staircase right there.

It was eerily dark with the lights turned off. When Lydia looked closer, she realized that where there could be any light source, there was nothing but holes and some taped-off wiring sticking out of the roof. Unless by a passing candle, this staircase would not be lit anytime soon.

You're just asking for someone to sneak up there; it’s all too suspicious. Why on earth would you need to keep it dark?

Her curiosity derailed common sense, then. Lydia cautiously approached the gate, and one tug proved that it was locked. She inspected the keyhole, as if expecting the key to just magically appear. Nothing happened, naturally, except for the return of common sense.

Lydia sighed, but gave up and let it be. She approached and took two steps down the other staircase before taking one last glance at the restricted area. No sound. No person. Nothing.

I'll figure it out, eventually.

Knowing this, she proceeded down the curved staircase that went to the first floor.

As she reached the front hall, she observed the place, trying to remember all of what Hinata had told her yesterday. All three entrances were easy to identify and tell apart. The staff hall was very small and tucked away, while the hall to the basement and dining room were more prominent to the right. It was the last entrance, left of the entryway, that she recognized as the place she was meant to go.

How many patients, again? Including me...Eight? So that means seven people are-

"There you are!"

The new voice startled Lydia to the point of almost screaming, while the source kept running at her without relent. Lydia already wasn't liking this.

It was a girl, maybe sixteen years old, with shiny blonde hair full of curls and tied into twin-tails. She wore a dress very similar to Lydia's, only she had accessorized it with a gold sash about the waist, complete with an extravagant gold bow on the back. Gold charm bracelets and earrings completed the girl's look.

So far, she was definitely like Hinata; enthusiastic and friendly, only she seemed much more energetic, giddy, and loud.

Is everyone here crazy? Oh, wait...

"Hello, there!” The girl chimed, “Oh, this is so exciting; we received the news yesterday, but it’s still a surprise!”

Lydia furrowed her brows. "It is?"

"Uh-huh," The girl replied. "Hinata was busy all day yesterday, so I wasn't able to ask much. Not only that, but our most recent patient came here this past January, so you can imagine how long it's been since we've seen some new faces."

"Guess so," Lydia remarked. Yeah, yeah, just tell me who you are so Hinata will be pleased.

"Although, I must admit..." The girl leaned in closer, as if suspicious. "You look a little strange..."

So typical.

The girl suddenly perked up. "I love it, though! You'll fit right in! We're all a bit unnatural, here."

I already knew that much.

"With that aside, my name is Alice Ariet. What's your name?"

"Lydia Rein."

"Oh, it suits you so well! Lydia, why don't you follow me? I'll introduce you to the other patients. Don't worry, they're nice, just not as fun as me!"

Thank heaven for that, Lydia thought, then nodded. "Alright."

Alice giggled, then grabbed Lydia by the wrist and led her toward the parlour.

So far, Lydia couldn't help disliking Alice. Her cheery, charismatic nature was extremely irritating. However, she figured that this would be better than some ruthless bully or jail inmate. Knowing this made her appreciate the patient, but not her company.

Lydia was dragged to the parlour, where she stood just inside the entrance. The room was longer than it was wide, decorated with lighter walls and darker tile. The end of the room was rounded off, a large window overlooking the outside. Along the walls, starting a little less than halfway into the room, a built-in bench ran along the base. The walls were decorated with lanterns, porcelain, and ink wash paintings.

As for the people, there were only four, not including herself or Alice. Two girls and two boys.

"The boys are a handful," Alice remarked. "But that’s not surprising; us ladies are who lighten the place, right?"

Lydia hid her irritation. "Right..."

Alice cheerily dragged Lydia to where the two girls were, both of which seemed hardly older than Alice. One was quietly reading through a book, while the other was shyly fiddling with a few marbles.

"We and Hinata make up the ladies of Aetherius," Alice remarked. “The bookworm, here, is-"

"Elizabeth Brinn," the reader said. This one did seem as if she’d be more social, with her vibrant orange hair and bright green eyes, but she refused to look up once and used a tone that read ‘I gave you a name, now leave me alone.’

The other girl, however, looked right in her secluded state. She was a little oriental girl with long dark hair, and she wore conservative black attire. The entire time, she only glanced up one time to see the newcomer, then immediately looked back down.

"She's shy," Alice explained, then turned to the girl. "Can't you at least say your name? Then we'll leave you alone."

"E-Esther," the girl murmured.

"There we go, that's progress!" Alice praised. The cheery girl then took a seat beside Esther, dragging Lydia next to her, and continued to chat mindlessly.

From here, Lydia observed the two men, either in the same age group as the rest of them. One was jotting down notes on a small pad, while the other was leaning back as he thought. The one writing was taller with auburn hair, wearing a basic grey vest and brown pants. The other had unkempt sandy-brown hair and basic, ruffled beige-and-brown attire.

“No need to be nervous,” Alice remarked. "Although, those two are nothing but trouble, that's for sure.”

The one with the pad looked up in disbelief. “I beg your pardon!”

The thinking one shot back up. “Wha...?” He blinked hard. “Woah, now, when did we get a new patient?”

Elizabeth, the redhead girl, suddenly muttered, “Idiot.” She glared up. “Did you not listen to a word Hinata told us, or the fact we were talking about it for hours to come?”

The sandy-haired boy grunted. “In case you forgot, Elizabeth, I was in the middle of setting up a glorious prank for our young couturier.”

“It didn’t even work,” Elizabeth muttered.

“But enough of that.” The same boy approached and inspected Lydia. “We have a new girl in the house. How interesting…” He extended a hand. “The name's Warren Cerullis, and who might you be?"

Lydia refused his handshake. "Name’s Lydia."

Warren grunted. “Well, Lydia, has anyone ever told you that you look quite stun-"

"Leave up, pervert!" Alice snapped. "Don’t plot on the new girl!"

Warren tried to look innocent. "What are you going on about? I was only introducing myself."

"Then produce the others,” Alice retorted.

"Alright," said Warren. He got up, practically jumping onto the opposite bench. He pointed to the auburn-haired man. "See, this one right here is none other than Silas, my right-hand man. We make sure no one gets too comfortable. Although, we'll give you an exception...for now."

Lydia mentally sneered, 'Pranksters of Aetherius' has been found.

“Satisfied, Alice?” Warren inquired.

Alice merely rolled her eyes.

Although, from the looks of it… Lydia spoke up, “Aren’t there supposed to be more patients?”

“Yes,” Alice answered. “There’s two more, but lord only knows where they ran off to. One prefers to stay in wonderland, while the other just likes to wander about on his own. You may see them later, and if so, don’t be afraid to speak to them.”

“You may just not want to speak to them,” Warren remarked.

“Oh, stop,” Alice insisted. “Now, Lydia, Hinata did tell you everything about the manor and such, did she not?”

“As much as she could, I suppose,” Lydia replied. “This manor belongs to Lord Aetherius, obviously, although Hinata uses it as a home for the mental people, no offence intended. She’s meant to heal us through…”

“Through doing the things we love!" Alice chimed. "That's the best part about this place, you know. Unlike the usual asylums and other institutions, we get to do whatever we want. Even if we're forced to stay in the manor, we still have much more freedom and no unnecessary treatments. Hinata will take you aside for a therapy session once every couple of months, but that’s about it."

You dare call this freedom? Lydia bitterly thought. "Yes, I suppose I understand."

"It helps that Aetherius is the one supplying us with everything, too," Elizabeth remarked.

"Uh-huh!" Alice agreed. “One night, I mindlessly said at dinner, ‘I wish we had a few lambs for the stableyards.’ Not even two days later, Hinata came back with three adorable little lambs, and I didn’t even have to ask her directly! She’s a wonderful lady, just a tad quirky for a mental doctor. You’ll come to like her, I promise."

The auburn-haired man, Silas, suddenly spoke up. “Well, Lydia? What can he expect to see from you?”

Lydia shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know.”

Warren sneered, “So you’ll just sulk about the manor?”

Esther murmured, “I bet she and Soloman will get along very well, then.”

Warren continued, “Come, now, you don’t have any hobbies or talents, or take an interest in any?’

“Not really, no.” Lydia blankly responded.

Alice tried to sound encouraging. "You'll find something. Everyone has something they love and love to do, and as we said, Aetherius offers just about anything so long as it helps you heal. Oh, maybe you could help me! It'd be so nice to have a friend to work with!"

Lydia cursed herself for asking, "What do you do?"

Alice immediately stood up. "Just follow me, and I'll show you."