Alley Cats

Chapter 2

Birds don't chirp when I wake up. They never did. My room is located on the west wing of the castle. The birds normally make nests on the east side.

I wake to the coolness of the room. I shiver. There's light that shines through the window, creating a nice glow in my room. The fire had gone out hours ago, but Nanami didn't come in to check on her or the fire. I knew it went out within two hours after I had fallen asleep.

I sit up, my blankets falling around my waist. I stretch my arms above my head, twisting my back until I hear a crack. I rub my eyes, rubbing away the sleepiness, before pulling away the covers, exposing my legs to the chill. I shiver again.

It might be due to the slight anemia that I shiver all the time, but I'm not sure if I did have it or not. It would make sense though. I shiver, I get dizzy when I move too fast, I bleed a lot, I have cold hands and feet. It's a lot that I deal with, but I never got it checked out by a doctor. I couldn't go to one.

I swing my legs over the bed, right above my slippers that rested on the wooden floor. I waited a few seconds before pushing myself off the bed. My feet fit perfectly in my slippers. They were slightly cool, but I didn't mind too much.

I heard a knock at my door. "Come in," I called out.

Nanami entered the room. "I had a feeling you would wake up earlier than before."

"Your intuition is always right," I said, walking over to the wardrobe. She pulled out my lunch dress, specifically designed by Koshi's tailor. Well, it was the tailor's wife, a seamstress, but it was still a generous gift. I undress myself from my nightgown.

"Your schedule goes as followed," Nanami started. She always goes over my schedule in the morning. It's what a court lady is supposed to do for someone of my status. "You have an afternoon lunch with your cousin, Prince Koshi, followed by your afternoon study session on the Nobility on Being an Elite Member to Society. Then you have a meeting with the King later tonight after dinner." Nanami pulled up my dress, tightening the corset.

"Wait, a meeting with the King?" I asked, "Why would he want to see me?" And the fact that it's a last-minute meeting is alarming too. She finished tightening the corset before walking me over to the vanity.

"I'm not sure. I was walking through the west wing's hall when I met up with him. He asked to see you now, but I had informed him that you were not awake yet. He asked me to wake you up, but I told him you had your morning class, The Etiquette of an Elite Member," Nanami said.

"Wow, you lied to the King about my schedule. How un-noble of you," I pretended to faint, throwing my hand over my forehead. I almost fell off the vanity stool, Nanami rushing quickly to catch me.

"Not so loud. The guards might hear of your shenanigans," Nanami scolded me. I straighten myself up in the stool, turning to look at myself in the mirror. She starts to brush my hair. "And it wasn't a complete lie. You do have that class today. It's just later in the morning, right before your lunch with Prince Koshi."

I groan, rolling my eyes. "I hate that class so much. It's bad enough I had to take those when I was younger if I ever wanted to dine at the same table my cousin, uncle, and grandfather sat at. Now I have to do it because 'royal members dine differently than elite members do'."

"I know, you hate etiquette classes. But to stay in the high rankings, you must learn how they properly dine. You don't want to seem higher above them with your royal etiquette," Nanami said, pulling my hair back and out of my face.