"You can just call me by my name," Henry said gently, though his voice was hoarse, still not used to such phrases.
"Ah! I'm sorry, Sir Henry," the maid said quickly. "I forgot you're still not used to being called 'young master.'"
She sat carefully on the edge of the bed. Henry reached out to hold her hand.
It felt overly nice, but whatever... He watched as she gently grabbed his ha-
'The fuck?!'
Henry blinked his eyes a few more times and stared at his own hand this time.
They...
They had become smaller...
'What is going on again?!'
Henry was confused again, and he kept staring at his hand, then at this woman before he looked down at himself.
He definitely had completely shrunk.
And his clothes were different too. Who changed them?
'She still called me Henry. So...?'
Henry observed his surroundings and immediately started noticing differences.
The room was the same one. But everything else inside felt misplaced.
Like the picture on the right side he admired secretly... it was gone.
They wouldn't just remake his room while he was asleep, would they?
This is seriously so annoying. Why is everything making him more confused?
But first of all, why is he shrunk?! That's not normal!
Henry couldn't calm down at all, but he still had a chance to find out everything because this maid might have all the answers.
"Ah… first of all, how should I call you?" he asked awkwardly, trying to act like a young master.
That must be how they talk, right?
"Just call me Martha!" Her face lit up with a bright, sincere smile. It was strangely soothing, but it wasn't making him calm down still.
"Martha, mm, did you guys change anything in the room?"
"No, Sir Henry."
'Why are they lying?'
Henry frowned and watched as she noticed his frown. But she smiled instead.
"Ah... Sir Henry, don't worry. We can definitely go and buy more cakes. I know you are upset because of that slice of cake you saved before falling asleep but ants got to it. You can't eat it anymore, right?"
Henry's frown got bigger as he became even more confused. Because what was she talking about? What cake?
He didn't even get to drink anything, let alone eat.
Well-
'That drink... it was in the dream, right?'
Henry was distracted by that dream again as the taste of that drink hit his tongue again. He remembered every single detail so clearly.
"Martha, what are you talking about?"
"Oh! You already forgot? It's alright, it's alright. Let's buy a new cake today."
"No. No. Mar-"
"Shall we get ready now? The duke said he wishes to meet you today in the morning, so let's have breakfast quickly, shall we?"
"Why does he want to see me?"
Henry asked, even more irritated.
"Maybe he has something for you? After all, he did promise to buy you something for your missed birthday, didn't he? Maybe this is it."
Henry was very, very confused now. Is she also from another world or what? What nonsense is she talking about?
Even through he got the memories, he couldn't find their last interactions to be about any birthday of Henry's or cakes like she was talking about.
"What birthday are you talking about, Martha?" Henry asked, drinking a little water again as his throat felt a little weird, maybe dry and sore...
"Your 8th birthday, sir. How could you forget?"
'The heck? Why would Henry want a present for his 8th birthday when he is already 14? This lady is nuts.' Henry rolled his eyes, convinced she was trying to fool him or something.
"Also, I think it's the day you are meeting your sister. I heard rumors she is coming today. Aren't you excited?"
'Okay. Now what is she saying? A sister? As far as I have known, the only sister Henry had was Ricarda...' Henry thought, and Martha continued.
"I heard her name is Ricarda." Henry jumped up, frowning again.
"Ricarda?"
"Yeah. Beautiful, right?"
"B-but why name her that too?"
"Ha?... What do you mean by 'too'? Who else is named Ricarda?"
Martha asked, looking confused but still smiling as she pushed the eggs toward him to eat, which he absentmindedly ate without being in his senses.
He is just... overwhelmed.
Because just when things got clear, everything is confusing again.
'So apparently, I have shrunk, in the same room before but a little different, apparently waiting for my 8th birthday gift and also Ricarda, who apparently these maides don't know about-'
'Wait... eight and Ricarda...?! If I remember correctly, Ricarda came to the mansion when Henry was 8. And according to Martha, that Ricarda is not here yet and apparently she comes here today. And... I am smaller in size. No, no, no. This is weird. But... am I 8?!'
Henry choked on the eggs, and Martha immediately came to the rescue, patting his back.
"Cough- Ma- cough—I am eight?" He asked in a hurry, which made the maid laugh.
"Yeah, yeah. You are already eight."
"And Ricarda isn't here yet?"
"Well, she will be here soon."
Henry felt dizzy.
No way he is really right.
There was no mistake. He was exactly fourteen when he last slept-
'Slept? When did I sleep? I didn't get any sleep at all. But I dreamed... fuck! What was even real?! Was it all a dream?! But I am sure I wasn't dreaming. I wasn't in pain.'
Pain...
The head injury, the mean guy grabbing him to question him, and then getting back the memories with the help of Arthur, and... he planned a lot.
But... if he talked about pain...
'I felt it too... Ricarda. She killed me.'
Henry rubbed his arm as goosebumps rose, suddenly a horrible assumption making him shake his head in real time.
'I drank that weird drink. I almost vomited it out. He was so aggressive, holding me, I lost my breath for a moment. And... she slid that knife inside my chest... it felt real... but that can't be. That definitely must be... must be a dream.'
Henry rubbed his forehead and rushed in front of the mirror that he noticed when Martha left the room to get something.
And his mouth dropped open.
'Waah... He is beautiful.'
Henry turned around and touched his hair, which was shorter than before, and the obvious smaller body of clearly an 8-year-old.
But he just had to focus on the beauty of this child for a second.
His hazel eyes...
They are enchanting.
It's sad that this was all gifted to him without any love...
'So... I am really 8. And should I be happy or more confused now?'
The previous incidents, other than Ricarda killing him, weren't that easily considered a dream, as that was when he literally grew aware of his situation.
'Maybe I was blessed with a precaution like that to start as an 8-year-old.'
But if he thought that way, he would have to take Ricarda killing him as information too. He can't dream inside another dream, right?
Everything is just too complicated.
'Haa...'
'What should I do? I can clearly start properly now that we are just beginning. Maybe this is for the better.'
But... he now can't forget Ricarda. Red hair, unhinged laughter, and the way he felt his life ending and dreaded that feeling...
'...Maybe... I need to be careful of her too...' Henry wasn't very convinced with all those theories, but he just went with it since he literally had himself and himself alone to move on.
"Shall we leave?" Henry nodded as Martha dressed him up. He was fully now eager for this meeting.
Does the mean bastard look the same too?
Or... will he meet Ricarda now? What will she look like?
And... is he seriously 8 now?
"Good luck!" Henry smiled as, now standing in front of apparently his father's office door, Martha sent him off inside with a greeting.
Henry stepped closer to the desk, where the mean guy, who actually looked not so different but maybe visibly a little younger, was scribbling on some paper.
But Henry was ignored.
'Yeah... abusive mean bastard. Ignore me.'
"Father," Henry spoke, his skin crawling because he really didn't want to use the word father. He hated both fathers of this Henry and his own.
"From today onward, your sister will live here. She went to her room not so long ago. Get along with her and don't cause trouble, understood?"
Henry didn't wait to nod and immediately asked to return.
"May I leave?" And the duke frowned at that because obviously this child used to cling to him.
"Yeah. And also, your maid, Martha, will now serve Ricarda. I'll assign you another."
Henry froze.
'Isn't that like rude? Whatever, but I bet real Henry would have been upset.'
"…Understood." Henry left soon after, and despite acting all tough, he hadn't realized he was pale and basically trembling.
Henry still lacked the ability to control the emotions of this real body.
So when he went outside and Martha saw him, she immediately got worried.
"What happened? Did the duke scold you?" She hugged him, patting his back.
"Martha," he said softly, "you'll be serving my sister now. Go. I'll miss you."
Her arms loosened when he finished, and Henry immediately walked away alone, the long corridor swallowing him whole.
He wasn't upset at all. But... the little one seemed upset.
Henry could feel it.
It's sad.
And... familiar.
'I feel fucking Lonely.'