Day 16, Evening
Conrad felt sick. Strangely and distractedly sick. Not like when he was drugged earlier, but still something off. Maybe there was something wrong with dinner. He had always suspected that he doesn’t react well to shellfish; maybe the maids used some sort of broth in their cooking that contained those ugly critters. But anyway, he felt oddly restless and stifled. After wandering around his room, rearranging things until he wanted to throw something across the room, he makes his way outside, hoping the fresh air will calm him.
But it doesn’t help much and he tugs restlessly at his collar. It’s hot. Why is it so hot out? A few minutes into the garden and he has to take his jacket off. It’s just too hot out for that extra layer. His whole face feels flushed and over-heated. His body too feels too warm, and unsettled with a fidgety kind of energy.
He’s just about to give up and go back inside, maybe lie down on the cool tile in the bathroom, when he comes across one of the fountains that dot the garden’s design. The water looks very tempting, and now that he thinks about it, when has he even given a damn? Pulling off his shoes and socks and rolling up his shirt sleeves, he steps into the fountain and moves under the cascade of water, letting it flow down his neck and over his feverish cheeks. It’s sweet and clean and shivery cold, enough to make his teeth hurt.
But it doesn’t help much and he tugs restlessly at his collar. It’s hot. Why is it so hot out? A few minutes into the garden and he has to take his jacket off. It’s just too hot out for that extra layer. His whole face feels flushed and over-heated. His body too feels too warm, and unsettled with a fidgety kind of energy.
He’s just about to give up and go back inside, maybe lie down on the cool tile in the bathroom, when he comes across one of the fountains that dot the garden’s design. The water looks very tempting, and now that he thinks about it, when has he even given a damn? Pulling off his shoes and socks and rolling up his shirt sleeves, he steps into the fountain and moves under the cascade of water, letting it flow down his neck and over his feverish cheeks. It’s sweet and clean and shivery cold, enough to make his teeth hurt.