BELLRAM

The promised staircase came into view. With that, they had probably reached about the middle of the house.

Opposite the stairs, to their left in the wall, was a double door larger than any door so far. You could not miss it. It was huge. The carriage from below could pass through with the horses as well as luggage on the roof. The door was also one of the few doors that had its own design and the design of this door was unrivalled. Across the entire width was a picture of the estate carved into the dark wood. What could be seen was the view Meia had missed while dreaming. It was the view from the driveway up the hill to the main house.

Turning into the stairs, Meia kept turning her head to look at the door for longer. The image was not a normal panorama. It stretched across the day and at the same time across the year from left to right. The sun and a white full moon were both visible. The sun was rising on the left and the mons was descending on the right. Meia now also saw that the roof of the house seemed to have a small glass dome and was not completely flat as she had actually assumed.

The maid noticed that Meia was about to break her neck and stopped her so that she could inspect the door at her leisure.

On closer inspection, Meia could see that there were little things hidden everywhere in the carving, like animals in the meadow or silhouettes in the windows. Meia could even make out individual flowers. The double door had been created with so much attention to detail that she could even see the shadows of the folds in the curtains of the windows. The door was a masterpiece. Any other word would not do it justice. It looked as if someone had carved his soul out of his body to make it. It looked as if someone had spent weeks on it. And all that just for a door. Next to the statue of the fountain, it was probably the greatest work of art on this estate. Meia at least did not know what else could come along that could surpass it.

"This door was installed only a month ago," the maid explained suddenly. "Mr Monet had it made as a commission by an artist friend. Respectively, the man is now an art collector. Creating this work was an exception he made for Mr Monet. I was told that in the end it took more than a thousand hours of work. Incidentally, the idea for the motif came from Mr Monet himself. He also authored the text in the clouds."

Thanks to the hint, Meia discovered that there was something written at the top of the door:
'Ducked in early colours, adorned in first shine, a bird in the morning longs for spring.
Blinded by summer's glare, troubled by nature's dance, a fox, scenting his lunch, stalks in earth's garb.
Driven by the aria of heaven, but inhibited by the melody of autumn, for a deer begins the last piece of the evening.
Faded by silent winter night and heedless of their late world, the False Roses strive for what is beyond their reach - the light above them that gives them shade.'

~They seem to take their vines theme very serious here.~ But perhaps this impression arose from the fact that Meia always paid attention to it. Mr Monet's badge also had vines like this. They were part of the family emblem. When Meia thought of her father, he would also have the Arvis emblem slapped on everything he could, if it would not cost extra. With the emblem, things would then be harder to steal, or as in their case, to seize. So the vines were a declaration of ownership.

As Meia looked at the animals more closely, a slight shudder came over her. The expression of the animals changed the effect of the whole work. At first it was a beautiful landscape with a house, but it turned out to be quite macabre. All the animals were afraid. They looked around and seemed worried. The deer in particular seemed as if it feared for its life. Maybe it was afraid of the fox? He was not too far away and seemed to be heading in that direction. He was also the only animal in a reasonably good mood. After all, he seemed to be only annoyed by the weather. But did a fox even eat deer? Meia did not know.

Only in summer were there people in the house, but you could not recognise any of them. They were all just shadows between the curtains. All of them seemed somewhat suspicious. A silhouette stood at the window and stared outside, but it was not clear where exactly it was staring. There was no one in front of the house at any time of the year. The further one looked to the right on the image, the more dangerous the surroundings seemed. On the left, the curtains of the house were all still open, but on the right they were all drawn. The flowers of the meadow had also disappeared there. Only the bluish blossoms of the vines remained. Although it made sense that no flowers grew in the depths of winter.

While Meia continued to study the door, the maid approached her and leaned in. "If you have a question about the work, I'll be happy to answer it, if I can," she offered in a loving tone, but with a look that said, you will never leave this house alive.

~Why is everything on this estate beautiful at first sight, but turns out to be really disturbing?~

"Does it have a meaning?" asked Meia, while continuing to look at the piece of art.

"I am sorry, I do not know. I am sure Mr Monet must have had something in mind, but it was not revealed to me. I suppose people should interpret it themselves? If you want it explained to you, you will have to ask Mr Monet, or you can ask the artist directly. He is also present today."

Meia grinned. She had seen through her. As long as you did not look at her, she could not intimidate you and this way you could very easily tell her real emotions. In this case, she sounded honestly disappointed that she would not be helpful. Apparently of all things, Meia had asked the one question she could not answer.

"Oh, Is not so important. What room is this?"

"Behind the door is the ballroom. The masked ball will be held here tomorrow evening."

"There's a masked ball? I don't have a mask. The invitation didn't say anything about that."

"The masked ball was a spontaneous idea of Mrs Monet. However, not having a mask is by no means a cause for concern. We have planned to hand them out so that everyone wears the same."

"Oh I see, that's fine then. I have no more questions. We can move on."

The two walked up the stairs. As they arrived at the middle section, Meia noticed something white move into her field of vision at the top right and looked up.

A woman was just turning into the staircase. Her body language looked as if she had not been awake for long and as if she had not slept much either. She looked completely worn out. She had deep circles under her eyes, which she had covered with make-up. Her hand with pink painted fingernails half-heartedly searched for the railing as she shakily walked the first step.

Walking the second step, she lifted her gaze and with this she noticed an obstacle to herself.

She stopped immediately. At the same time, she pulled her hand away from the railing and stood upright.

Meia was met with an annoyed look.

Intimidated, she stepped off the railing to make way for the woman and to wait on the half floor. The maid even stood herself all the way up against the wall.

Only when her path was clear did the woman continue.

Over the course of the stairs, she only looked at the carpet and grabbed her head as if she had a headache.

The clothing that woman had chosen to perhaps go to a bathroom was ... it was not really revealing, yet still somehow sexually charged. First of all, she wore a bathrobe and sandals. The bathrobe was open and Meia could see a swim suit underneath. So far it was possibly normal if you had a pool. But the swim suit itself was somehow strange. It looked as if she had wrapped a curtain around her body. The swim suit showed skin that you normally would not see. ... The curtain was not drawn. ... Due to the high cut, Meia now knew that the woman was shaved. Meia also knew who she was. The maid had just mentioned her and her father's preparatory monologue had also emphasised her existence several times.

Her name was Celeste Monet. She was Mr Monet's younger sister.

There was one thing about her that struck one immediately. Meia would say it was unmissable, because it literally caught your eye. The woman had curly hair that went all the way down to her bottom. It was a veritable mountain of hair. She could easily wear it as a scarf if she wanted to. It reminded Meia of a bouffant brush. But even more unusual than the mass and length of her hair was its colour. It was completely pink. As Meia had figured out, it was not a dye job. It was her natural hair colour. Celeste Monet was a half-child with a mother of foreign descent. That was also why her father had mentioned her so often, because when it came to inheritance, she would not be a factor for Meia. Nevertheless, she was the second most important person on this estate. It was necessary to introduce herself to her and suck up to her as best as possible.

When Mrs Monet arrived by them, Meia bowed in humility.

"He-Hello. I am Meiandra Arv..."

At first Meia grew quieter, until she eventually stopped speaking altogether once she realised there was no point.

Ms Monet had simply walked past her and was already on her way down.

"Tch.", she clicked her tongue still.

There was no other reaction from her. The click itself was very quiet, as if Meia was not supposed to have heard it. It seemed as if she already hated her.

"Did I make a mistake? Should you have introduced me?", Meia quietly asked the maid, hoping it was so so that she might have another chance later.

"Please don't address me with politeness."

"Y-yes."

"You have done nothing wrong. Today was just a bad day for Mrs Monet. It would be the best if you would just dont mind her."

"I-I understand."

"At the top of the stairs will be the reading room. Would you like to go on?"

A nod was all Meia could produce and the two walked on.

Her reply had sounded like an evasion. After all, if one was having a bad day, one would still not behave like that to a stranger.

"Erm... Can I ask you a question?

"Certainly."

"What do you think about Mr Monet?"

"Mr Monet is an intelligent man with a big heart. He helps the weak from his position of strength. He is diligent, tidy and always ready to take responsibility. He is someone who always knows to say the right words at the right time. He is someone to look up to.

Meia nodded in approval, however, the answer was actualy disappointing. It sounded a bit rehearsed and did not help. On the other hand, she did not know what kind of answer she had expected. What bad thing could a maid say about her employer? The only thing Meia had noticed was that she had not used a relational phrase like 'I think'. On the other hand, Meia had already preempted her in this regard, one might say. Perhaps a differently phrased question would have been better?

A few steps later, the maid looked at Meia again.

"Should you be married to Mr Monet, it would be the best thing that could happen to you. Worries do not exist in his world. You would be happy until the end of your life."

"Th-thank you."

.../ End Part