NOVEL WEB Chapter 32: Wooden Box
Reading in her own room whilst wearing a comfortable nightgown and sitting on her soft bed with warm sheets over her legs felt like a little dream to Hannah. So much so that she had to pause every so often just to try and fully take in what was happening to her. Life was somehow becoming normal and not the slavery version of normal she had become used to. It was like she was just another person living their life, no different than anybody else. It felt so good, but that voice and fear inside of her was constantly trying to tell her it would all be taken away. That this wasn’t a gift from the goddess herself, but a cruel joke to remind her of how nice life used to be before ripping it all away.
For the hundredth time tonight Hannah literally shook away those thoughts. It wasn’t helpful to catastrophize. Doing that wouldn’t get her anywhere and it would only make her feel bad. She needed to trust in what Eda had told her earlier today. Hannah needed that trust. She needed to be able to trust someone. She needed someone who she could fully trust. She needed someone close like that in her life again. Elaine had been someone Hannah trusted without question and the fox truly felt like she needed that again in her life. Not someone to replace Elaine, no one could replace her, but someone to make their own place in Hannah’s heart. Someone that could help Hannah when she had moments of catastrophizing like this.
Hannah looked down at the book in her hands and sighed. She wasn’t getting anywhere in the book because she had to keep rereading every few paragraphs because her mind was in other places. Closing the book she decided that getting some sleep would be the best idea. Rayne and her were normally up later than this so the extra sleep might be nice.
The sound of someone walking down the hallways picked up the attention of the fox’s ears. It wasn’t strange for someone to be walking down the hall, but that little bit of panic grew inside of her. It wasn’t Eda walking down the hall because Hannah couldn’t hear the jingle of keys, so it had to be another member of staff. Some part of Hannah wonder what if it wasn’t. What if it was her mistress? Her chest felt tight in a combination of hope and dread.
Rayne mentally counted the doors over and over again as she made her way down the hall. For some reason in the growing anxiety recounting the doors felt like the only way to keep herself calm. The only way to keep herself from spiraling, which was something Rayne rarely did. She couldn’t help it though. What was about to happen felt like a massive make it or break it moment. Finally after what felt like an eternity the lady found herself standing outside of Hannah’s door. She took a quiet deep breath, held it for a few seconds before letting it out.
The person had stopped outside of Hannah’s door and it felt like an eternity before the fox heard a very gentle knock on her door. In her bed Hannah’s legs felt like they were filled with lead and she couldn’t move. Getting up and answering the door in person was the appropriate thing to do, but in her almost paralyzing fear she called out, “Yes?”
“Hannah,” Rayne quietly said, hoping her voice wasn’t filled with nerves, “I have some things for you. Can I come in?” Hopefully she was quiet enough that none of the rest of the staff heard her.
Elation and dread filled Hannah the second she heard Rayne’s voice. “Y-yes.” Her legs still felt like they couldn’t move and her ears folded flat against her head.
Deciding hesitation was only going to make this worse, Rayne quickly opened the door to Hannah’s room. The room was nearly identical to the rest of the staff rooms, though maybe a little less personalized. At the Hayward manor staff were allowed to rearrange and add to their rooms as they saw fit, as long as once they left they would put the room back to the way they had received it. Rayne hadn’t been in many of the staff’s rooms to know how personalized they got but she was sure it was at least noticeable in some way, unlike Hannah’s. Hopefully that would be able to change for Hannah if she so desired.
The first thought that came to Hannah upon seeing Rayne was that she looked a little tired. More tired than Hannah had seen before. It then took Hannah a moment to notice that Rayne was holding a number of things. Had Rayne been out all day getting Hannah things? Were they the journals and a pen that she had asked for?
Rayne gave a gentle and nervous smile. It was nice to see Hannah after such a long day, even if Hannah was what was making her anxious. “I hope I haven’t woken you.”
Hannah shook her head. “No, Mistress. I just finished reading.” Should Hannah get out of bed and stand up? It felt a little vulnerable to have Rayne see her in bed like this, even if the lady had seen her in a nightgown before.
“Good.” Nervously Rayne looked down at the items she was carrying. “As I said, I have some things for you. I didn’t feel like I could wait to give them to you.” Why had she said that last part? Hannah didn’t need to know that. Feeling vulnerable herself and not wanting others to potentially hear, Rayne gently closed the door behind her. A new panic arose in Rayne at suddenly realizing what she had done might make Hannah feel trapped. “I don’t want to wake anyone. I hope that's alright.”
Being alone in a closed room with Rayne wasn’t a new thing, but it did feel very different that this time it was in a bedroom. “That’s fine. I wouldn’t want to bother anyone else.”
This was already so awkward and Rayne hated it. Not knowing what else to do Rayne did her best not to appear nervous as she sat herself at the end of Hannah’s bed. It was only after sitting down that Rayne registered there was a chair in the room and it would be far more appropriate, but it was too late now as it would be even more awkward to move. “Here,” Rayne said, handing over the paper wrapped item. They really looked like gifts wrapped and put in boxes. “I’m sorry about the wrapping. The only places I know where to shop all like to package the items.”
Hannah took the wrapped item, almost feeling like they were gifts with being wrapped. When was the last time Hannah had been given a gift? “It’s alright. Thank you, Mistress.” Her ears finally stood back up as the initial fear started to fade at the idea of being given gifts. Carefully Hannah unwrapped the paper, afraid to just rip it open as she might have done normally with a wrapped gift. Once done Hannah found two beautiful leather bound journals. The faces were carved with intricate floral designs and most importantly to Hannah, they were both rather thick.
“The places I shop also only tend to have overly extravagant items, so I’m sorry if they feel a little over the top.”
Tears were starting to form in Hannah’s eyes at a sudden overwhelming amount of feelings. Quickly she wiped them away. “They’re perfect. Thank you.”
There was so much relief at Hannah’s words that it was almost overwhelming. Rayne hadn’t realized just how worried she had been about the items Hannah had asked for and not just the one she had searched for. “I’m glad you like them. You’ll need this to use them though.” Now Rayne handed over the tall and skinny wooden box.
Hannah set the journals down on her lap before gently taking the box from her mistress. There was a small latch and undoing it allowed it to open on the hinge. Inside was a bottle of ink at one end in its own little compartment and in the much larger one sat a pen. The fanciest pen Hannah had ever seen. The silver body had floral carvings inlaid with gold. Hannah tried to refuse to believe that the pen was actually silver and gold, but knowing Rayne it clearly was. The pen might truly have been the single most expensive thing Hannah had ever called her own.
Rayne saw tears falling from Hannah’s face as she looked down at the pen and instantly the lady worried. Thankfully that worry was replaced with the realization that Hannah wasn’t upset with the pen, she was clearly overwhelmed as well. The next item that could be called a gift, but also not at the same time, was probably going to push Hannah over the edge if Rayne was right. She looked down at the small box and saw her hands were clutching it so hard that her knuckles had turned white. Rayne was genuinely feeling a true fear for the first time in a long time.
“T-this next item… I…” The lady closed her eyes tightly as she struggled to find the words. Being scared was a horrible feeling. “I’m just going to be fully honest with you Hannah… I am terrified that I have gotten this wrong, and I am going to be so truly embarrassed if I am.” Tears were welling up in Rayne’s eyes and she wasn’t sure exactly why that was happening. “I hope the Goddess has guided me right today.” Letting go of her death-grip on the box she handed it over to Hannah.
Hannah wasn’t sure if she had actually seen Rayne cry before. She had seen the aftermath of Rayne crying before but not actually crying in front of her. Internally Hannah made her own little prayer to the Goddess hoping that whether the item was right or not, that Rayne would feel an emotional relief and not be burdened by it any more. The box was small and wooden as well. Maybe an ever fancier wood than the pen box. She gently opened the box and she froze. Inside of the fancy little box on a velvet cushion sat a small hand carved wooden pendant. It was shaped like a simple flower and admittedly the work was a little clumsy, but to Hannah it only added beauty to it.
Rayne watched Hannah with bated breath as her fox stared at the pendant. It felt like an eternity before Hannah did anything and Rayne didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. She watched patiently as Hannah picked up the pendant with a shaky hand. Her movements slowed with clear fear and hesitation before she gently turned it over in her hand.
The small Everlian inscription on the back of the pendant was hard to read through eyes that were streaming with tears, but Hannah could still make it out.
I love you, Hannah
-Elaine
“T-this is m-my necklace.”
Rayne let go a massive sigh of relief and a few tears of her own at Hannah’s words. All of the effort she had put in today wasn’t in vain. “I am so happy and relieved to hear that,” Rayne said with a massive smile on her face. “I had been so worried I was wrong.”
Pain filled Hannah’s chest as she clutched the pendant in her hand before bringing it to her heart. All Hannah could think about was Elaine and the memory of her proposing with this pendant. It made Hannah so happy and so sad at the same time. Rayne was but a blur when Hannah finally looked up at her mistress. “H-how?”
Seeing Hannah on the verge of sobbing made Rayne so desperately desire to reach out and hold her, but she held herself back. “I remembered you had talked about your necklace when we first met and I wanted to see if I could track it down. I went back to the bakery and had a… pleasant conversation with Mrs. Strawford. It took quite a bit of time to get her to remember where she had sold it. From there I went to where she sold it to find that they had also sold it. It took actual money to convince them to tell me where they sold it, and then I had to repeat that process a number of times.
“Your necklace was rather popular because of that inscription on the back. At some point someone saw it and must have thought it was Elven or something they could pass off as Elven. When I finally tracked it down it was in the hands of a collector of Elven artifacts. Trying to explain that the pendant wasn’t Elven but Everlian didn’t go well as I didn’t have any way of proving it. In the end I bought it off of him for a price as if it were an actual elven artifact.”
The sobs were starting to come loose as Hannah fully comprehended how much trouble Rayne must have gone through to get her necklace back. How much money she must have spent in the process as well. Not only that but if Rayne had been willing to do all of that Eda’s words from earlier in the day must have been true. Rayne accepted her.
Rayne wasn’t fully prepared for Hannah to practically leap out from under the sheets to wrap her arms around her, but Rayne loved it. The fox’s arms were tight around Rayne’s neck as Hannah sobbed and clearly tried to say something, but wasn’t quite able to make the words intelligible. None of that mattered though as Rayne wrapped her own arms around Hannah and hugged her back. The fluttery feeling in her stomach mixed with the relief still coursing through her was almost intoxicating. This might have been one of the best moments of Rayne’s entire life. She never wanted to let go.
After some time Hannah stopped trying and failing to give her undying thanks to Rayne and just held on and cried. Her emotions were too much of a mess to really sort out but she could easily recognize the immense gratitude and affection she felt towards Rayne. Someone accepted Hannah. Someone cared about her so much that they would spend all this time tracking something down that had only been brought up once in the entire time they knew each other. Someone cared enough about her and her happiness to spend what was probably a ridiculous amount of money to reunite Hannah with something so small and simple. Hannah felt loved and Hannah also felt love.
Rayne gently closed her eyes as she held onto Hannah. Today had been a long day. A very long day and only now was the lady really starting to feel how tired she was both physically and emotionally. Going to bed sounded like a wonderful idea but that would mean having to let go of Hannah. Who could bring themselves to let go of a crying fox? Not Rayne. Staying like this just a little bit longer wasn’t going to hurt either of them.
It took a while for the sobs to quell but the tears and sorrow didn’t. Hannah knew those were going to stay for a good while, just like her hold of Rayne. It was nice to hold onto someone, especially Rayne. Hannah didn’t really want it to end. She wanted the comfort and affection to stay even as her eyelids started to feel heavy. All she wanted was to keep her head buried in the crook of Rayne’s neck. To keep being held by those warm arms. Hannah felt Rayne’s arms slip a little bit but they didn’t fully let go of her. The lady’s body went a little more slack, but Hannah felt her own body doing the same. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could both just lay down for a little while?
Sleep was clearly starting to take Rayne the longer she held onto Hannah, but she just couldn’t bring herself to let go. It was such a nice feeling to have her fox in her arms. To feel the warmth of Hannah against her. What she wouldn’t give to spend another night cuddling with Hannah. “I… I’m sorry, Hannah, but I’m about to fall asleep,” Rayne said through a yawn.
The grip she had lost on Rayne tightened again at the fear of being let go. Hannah was tired as well, maybe not quite on the verge of falling asleep but enough to want to close her eyes and relax. “J-just a little bit longer.”
Hannah’s voice was so quiet but so full of emotion. Deciphering those emotions was hard for Rayne’s sleepy brain. It didn’t matter though as she could never say no to Hannah. A little bit longer wasn’t going to hurt either of them.
