It wasn't until the following evening that everyone woke up at the same time from a restless night of sleep. They entered the grand dining hall only to perceive that the long banquet table situated in the middle of the room was already full of delicacies of all sorts, with Klaudia sitting at one end, waiting for them. The room was only dimly illuminated with a few candles on the table.
"Pray, have a seat everyone! Dinner is being served," said Klaudia with a clear voice. "I hope you've all had a comfortable sleep. I know everyone must've been exhausted from yesterday's journey, so I did not disturb you."
"Well, if you're asking, the answer is no, I did not sleep well at all last night!" responded Tiffany, crossing her arms. "First of all, the pillows are too soft, it feels like you're not sleeping on one; then, the mattress is too hard, it's like sleeping on the ground; and not to mention the duvet. I mean....when was the last time you've washed it? I feel like I was sleeping with millions of dust mites. Yuck!"
"Wow! What a grand feast you've prepared for us, Klaudia!" admired Jeffrey whilst sitting down, in order to change the topic of conversation. "Really, you don't need to do this especially for us."
"Of course it's not for you!" replied Klaudia in an icy tone, however, she soon checked herself and continued with a sweet smile. "I mean, that's what I normally eat for dinner anyways. To me, dinner is the most important meal of the day."
Just when Tiffany was about to enquire whether the vegetables in the salad are organic, a short woman with dark skin and black hair appeared by the doorway, holding a dish on her hands. On seeing her entrance, everyone gasped.
"Ahhhhh! It's her! The cannibal!" screamed Tiffany as she immediately recognised the woman to be the one they perceived the previous night to be chopping wood by the little hut.
Before Tiffany could fling a candle at the woman, Klaudia enquired, "She's my new maid - Maria from the Philipines, in fact, she only arrived on the day before you did. Have you seen her before?"
After Klaudia's enquiry, Nadia recounted the events of the preceding night when they had encountered Maria chopping wood by the little hut. "Maria, were you chopping wood by the little hut at 2am?" questioned Klaudia.
"Yes, ma'am," replied Maria nodding her head. "I was going to take a bath, but I found out that someone had already bathed in the hot water I had boiled previously. So, I chopped some more wood to boil more water."
All this time, only Shaun had noticed a figure gliding past the doorway and disappearing into the darkness.
"Very well, you can leave the room now, Maria," said Klaudia, which Maria obeyed.
"After dinner, could you take us around this island?" queried Nadia, desperate to see what animals inhabited this island. "I can't wait to explore this wonderful place."
"I would love to, not that there are many things to explore on this island except for bogs anyways. But I'm afraid that, right now, it's too dark to go outside," replied Klaudia pointing to the window. "It's too dangerous. But I promise to take you out tomorrow if you can survive in this place until then. I mean, without the Internet and stuff, hahaha."
"Brrrr, it's quite cold in here, Klaudia. Can we turn the heater on?" enquired Nadia, shivering with cold despite it being already spring.
"Speaking of heaters, the one in my room broke, but Bosko has already retired to his room on the other wing of this castle for the night, so I don't know what to do," said Klaudia, completely ignoring Nadia's question.
"Don't worry, I'll go see if I can fix it for you," Jeffrey volunteered.
~To be Continued~
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