I didn't wake up until a quarter till noon the next day. I was surprised I had slept so long, and fitfully as well. Normally I was up by nine-thirty. Once again, I didn't feel like a medicine head, so my midnight dining with Lucien was the last thing to transpire between the two of us. Today would be another boring day for me. Lucien was out conducting his business, running the local winery. On the days he was gone I was locked inside until he returned. Perhaps that is what made me the most bitter towards him. I would bring this to his attention tonight during dinner. For a year I hadn't said anything. No more of my silence.

Walking down the numerous halls, I finally went to the library. That room I had made my own private sanctuary. Lucien had made it clear to his staff that I wasn't to be disturbed while I was in there. I guess he got tired of the maids complaining about the piles of books I left everywhere. I had only a few more books left until I finished off the collection he had. Soon, Lucien would need to either let me go outside, or expand the room so more books could fit. I sighed as I flipped through a book. Honestly, it wasn't that interesting. There was no doubt I loved reading, but I needed contact with people too. I couldn't live my life through books. The staff weren't allowed to converse with me unless it was concerning something I needed.

Closing the book, I stood from the forest green crushed velvet chair I had been sitting in, and stretched. The library had a door that was always covered by a curtain. The curtain itself was a deep maroon color with more crushed velvet. I think Lucien was addicted to the soft material. I had stumbled across this secret door the fourth or fifth month I was here. Those memories seemed so long ago. Lucien had run off to the vineyard itself. There had been a bug infestation on a few of the grape clusters, and he had to be there to over-look the pest control. Before he had hurried off, he had explained briefly how to find the library. I don't think he ever expected me to find his secret door. I never revealed it to him either. The secret entry way led down a flight of darkened steps, with slimy walls that I refused to touch. I tried my best to not leave any trace of where I'd been, or what I had been doing. Once I was past the stairs, the ground beneath me turned from concrete to cracked earth. The next five steps lead to the most beautiful and exquisite places I'd ever seen.

"Oh!" I replied, my breath taken from me. I had seen it a dozen times since the first, and it took my breath away each time. The dark tunnel lead me to a magnificent field of lush green grass, and multitudes of flowers. The field was not as wild as I had thought the first time I came. The rare, exotic flowers were arranged in patterns, which made me wonder how often Lucien came here too.