Night Night, My Little Rabbit (Zoe)

She walked down many more corridors, each just as beautiful, if not more so than all of the others we had passed through until we arrived in a hallway with a whole bunch of doors, each having a number. The floor was dirty here and so we’re most of the doors. There was a slight stench… it was gross. Bug opened a door near the front of the hallway with the number five and ducked to carry me in. The room was actually pretty clean and it was also a lot bigger than even my old room. Bug set me down on the bed and then walked over to a cabinet. She pulled out a black box with a red cross and walked back over to me. She opened it and inside were a few bottles, some bandages, gauze, and a thermometer. She picked up one of the bottles and poured it on a cloth. She then wiped it on my foot. I hissed as the alcohol touched my cut. It was nice to know I had someone to take care of me though. I smiled at the thought.

“Sorry, I know it hurts,” she said. When she finished cleaning my cuts, she put one hand on each foot and closed her eyes. My cuts began to close. They were completely healed in a matter of seconds. It was cool. Was this magic? “So… you wanted to know if I like him?” She asked.

“Well, yeah, of course I’m curious,” I replied. I kinda was. I had always looked up to her and she seemed to look up to him. There had to be more to him than what I had seen.

“I… don’t know. I met him a few years ago. He hired me to be his bodyguard. We were short staffed in the area, and we were being paid a large sum of money, so I took the job personally. The king was nice. He gave me one of the barracks rooms and gave me very little work. I moved up the ranks quickly. Soon I became a royal knight. Leader of the king's squadron… and now… everything’s become weird. Do I like him? I… don’t know. I refuse to like anyone like that ever again. Everyone leaves me. They hate me in the end. If I let myself love him… let myself love anyone anymore because… they all leave. You too, I can’t let anyone into my heart. I know you’ll eventually leave too. I am so lonely. Always have been, always will be. So no, I don’t love him. I don’t love anyone,” she replied. It felt terrible to hear this from her. I could understand… but… I didn’t want her to feel that way.

“Well, you wanna know what I think?” I asked, not waiting for a reply, I continued. “I think that you should still try to find someone to love. You deserve it. You might come out with a broken heart, but eventually, you’ll find someone you love. You’ll find someone who won’t abandon you. Someone who loves you.” I really wanted to be that person, but I didn’t say so. Why would I? I was exactly the same, except I was more useless. I didn’t deserve someone’s love. She did.

“It will take one hell of a person to find a way into my hardened heart,” She snorted, “It is soon to be night, you should take a shower. I will go get us some food from the kitchens. Luckily, I have a shower of my own, being number five and all.”

“Wait, the numbers mean things?” I asked.

“Yeah, your room number being in the top 100 is organized by your favour by the crown. It means that I am close to the king. I could be number one if I wanted. I asked him not to be in the double digits, so he put e in the single digits. That wasn’t what I wanted, but I’m not going to fight him on it. It’s useless anyways. It’s fine. I’ll be back,” she replied, leaving the room. I saw another door and assumed it was the bathroom, so I walked through it and it was, indeed, the bathroom. I quickly undressed and bathed myself in the cold water and then I shook myself dry and put my night gown back on. I returned to the room just as Bug walked in with two sandwiches. “Here,” she offered one to me. I took it. It was simple ham and cheese. It even had mayonnaise. I loved mayonnaise. I quickly finished it. Bug was writing something down at a desk in the corner. “Done already?” I heard the screech of the chair legs as they scraped against the floor. She walked over to me and patted me on the head. Go to sleep. I still have some documents to finish,” she took my plate and motioned to the bed. Then she returned to her desk and blew out her candle. How she could write in this darkness, I didn’t understand. I simply crawled into her bed and as I did so, I saw Patches in stuffed animal form. I hugged him tight and slept, just like I had so many times before.

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