Chapter - 15

It just wasn’t fair.

It only took a single mistake, a little — a big — mess that landed Yuki back in the cage. She hated the thing. She barely had space to move. Yuki was a good, clean bunny. Messing up the bed was an accident. No, it had been Jenny’s fault. Who in their right mind scares a peaceful bunny in their sleep? Yuki wasn’t to blame for the predictable result.

The mess didn’t warrant a locked cage.

But Yuki had a plan. Granted, it wasn’t a good one. The goal was simple: escape.

The lock was one of those contraptions with a single wood bolt holding the door closed. Yuki’s paw barely reached the lock, but she was confident.

She hopped closer and looked at the lock again. Sturdy, heavy, and still smelling of fresh-cut wood. She sniffed it; the scent was pleasant and calming, like lazing on a comfy reading chair, book in one hand and hot tea in the other. Yuki shook her head; now wasn’t the time for distractions. Her paws went outside the cage, trying to pull the bolt out.

It didn’t work.

Yuki’s claws scraped the wood, finding no purchase. She tried from another angle with the same result. No matter how she tried, the bolt wouldn’t move.

She kept trying anyway.

Her claw eventually caught on something, and the bolt shook. Yuki held back her euphoria. She finished dislodging the bolt. The piece of wood clattered away. The cage door opened with its familiar creaking. She jumped out and hopped about, in a victory dance.

Freedom! And it was time to skedaddle.

Playing the part of the pet for two weeks had been pleasant. Jenny was a fantastic human, with magic fingers already trained to reach the best spots on Yuki’s ears and coat. She wanted to keep Jenny, but also missed her family. And not only that. The self-imposed two-week limit was up; her mana was nearly full. Tonight, she would make her escape.

The door to Jenny’s room flew open, hitting the opposite wall with a bang. Yuki froze. Jenny ran inside, holding two slips of parchment. She turned and closed the door, then locked it shut.

Why was she here? It wasn’t even noon!

Jenny locked eyes on Yuki and strode forward. In one swift motion, she scooped the rabbit into her arms.

“It’s finally happening, Biscuit!” Jenny giggled, twirling. “Finally!”

Yuki closed her eyes, dizzy from all the spinning. When the movement stopped, she opened her eyes again. Jenny flopped onto the bed without removing her shoes. The two pages still held to her chest.

A moment later, she got up, spreading the parchment in front of her: One was a simple letter, the seal already broken. The other was a fancy-looking letter with the wax seal still intact. The open missive held blocky, utilitarian letters in a language Yuki could not understand. She smelled the fancy one: a soft floral note mixed with ink. Something between roses and sweet myrrh.

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Jenny smiled, then tapped the one with the blocky script. “This one is from Ferdinand.”

She picked up the parchment inside and scanned its contents. “He’ll arrive today and stay for the festival.”

One of those words pinged something from Yuki’s memories. Ferdinand. Yuki was pretty sure it was a name. Somehow, she disliked it. Her teeth ground. Jenny sighed, fingers trailing circles on Yuki’s cheeks.

”I agree, but he’s a viscount's son.” Her nose scrunched.

She placed the letter on the bed and sighed, long, tired and defeated.

“Nowhere close to a duchess, but it will have to be enough.” Jenny’s face contorted into a scowl. She picked the letter, crushed and threw it away. The paper bounced against the wall, rolled under the wardrobe, out of sight.

There was another sigh full of emotion. Jenny sniffed the letter, a small, pleased smile blossoming on her face before she took the fancy scroll in both hands. With meticulous care, she broke the wax seal; The scroll unfurled to reveal words in a flowery cursive script. Yuki still couldn’t read, but at least the cursive looked pretty. Yuki watched Jenny read the correspondence. Her face shifted between various expressions: she furrowed her brows, then growled like an enraged beast.

“I’m gonna kill that bastard!”

She kept reading. At some point, her eyes were wide and disbelieving. Then she got up on the bed, giggled and spun, still holding the letter like a love-struck girl. When she finished reading, she sat holding the letter, full-on ugly crying.

Jenny choked between sobs.

“Oh, Gizelda, you silly girl.”

Yuki had heard that name a few times, Gizelda. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was the girl in the portrait by Jenny’s bedside. The one with the pretty smile and charming dimples. Awkward and unsure of what to do, she hopped on Jenny’s lap and pressed her head against the girl’s midriff.

Jenny hugged Yuki and the letter. She laid down, crying in silence.

Yuki wasn’t sure how long they spent there.

Jenny sat up and cleared the tears with the back of her hand. She put Yuki on the bed and carried the letter to the mystery door. She undid the triple lock and moved inside. Unlike before, Jenny didn’t close the door.

Yuki’s ears perked at the sound of rustling fabric. She looked at the inviting open door. Debated for a few minutes.

Should she do it?

Jenny looked like she needed time alone, but Yuki was so curious. Why the triple lock? What did Jenny do locked inside for hours on end? She knew she shouldn’t. It broke their trust, was an invasion of privacy, and was wrong.

Yuki hopped closer.

Why was she even thinking these silly thoughts? She was a rabbit, and rabbits were curious creatures. Of course she was going to check out the mystery door.

Donning her spy persona, codename Ivory-Intel, Yuki sneaked into the mystery room.

Dim light filled the area on the other side. It was a small cubicle; maybe once was an indoor wardrobe, but now the walls were bare, the flickering of a candle on the far end casting ghostly shadows.

Jenny sat on a floor cushion near the source of the light.

Yuki’s eyes adjusted to the semi-darkness; she wished they hadn’t.

Jenny was in front of what could only be an altar of sorts. At the center, a portrait of the Gizelda girl. Around it was a carefully arranged stack of letters, small glass containers with various colorful liquids, and an assortment of flowers in elegant arrangements.

No, the altar wasn’t the problem; it was the wall behind it.

Pinned to the wall, some with knives, forks, stakes, and even nails, were hand-drawn pictures.

There were a lot of them, all emphasizing the picture in the center of the wall: a fat, balding man with beady leering eyes. A knife held the picture to the wall, piercing through the mouth. A blood-colored X crossed the face.

Jenny noticed Yuki’s entrance. She turned; her eyes were wide and unfocused. Her smile unhinged, with too many teeth on display. On one hand, she held a portrait of the girl on the altar. Jenny beckoned.

“Biscuit! Come, let me introduce you to my best friend!”

Yuki heard the words; she understood her unwanted new name being called; she saw the inviting gesture.

Human-turned-splendid-rabbit turned tail and ran out the door. Yuki needed to escape and needed to escape now!

Ear massages be damned; she was not getting wrapped up in that sort of crazy!