House of Winter

Chapter 31, Part 2

"And what is Sanna doing in the Fire Lands?" Katja asked. "Joining the fire army as the first winter soldier?"

Lumi swallowed and then shook her head. "She's arranged to be married to Tai."

Katja and Tom both stared at Lumi.

"What!" Katja spluttered.

"Tai and Sanna are planning to get married," Lumi confirmed.

"And Sanna's okay with that?" Tom asked.

"Of course she is," Katja snapped. "It's Sanna. Her entire life goal is to marry a prince. You should have seen her when we first met Raphael..." Katja suddenly trailed off and looked at Lumi. Her lip trembled and then she stood up. "I've been travelling for a long time. I need to sleep."

"Of course," Tom said. "We can find you a bed."

"Tom, if you don't mind," Katja said. "Could I have a word?"

"Of course, anything," Tom said.

"Just with Tom, if that's okay, Lumi," Katja said. Her tone was polite but Lumi suddenly felt a sense of iciness emanating from the princess. The memory of Raphael had turned her.

Lumi stood up. "Of course," she said. "I'm exhausted, anyway. I'll go to bed. I'll see you two in the morning."

Lumi took herself back to the room she'd been sharing with Tom. She now didn't know whether Tom would join her in this room or whether he would find a room for Katja and sleep somewhere else.

Lumi suddenly felt a jolt as she imagined Tom lying down in the same bed to share with Katja.

They wouldn't do that, would they? Katja was a princess of Norrlund, and Tom, despite his celebrity, was merely a commoner. It would be indecent for him to sleep in a bed with Katja. In Lombardia their friendship had been strictly formal.

It was only because Lumi and Tom had been travelling for so many miles and slept in such poor conditions, outside and under the stars and in caves and curled together on the ice, that they had grown used to sleeping in the same room. But usually it was unheard of for a princess to share a bed. It was unsightly and unbecoming.

And yet Lumi suddenly remembered that Katja and Tom had been friends since they were young, when they first started at Hilverton College together. Maybe they had spent long nights together in the Winter House, doing homework and falling asleep in front of the fire. Maybe their long friendship meant that it wasn't unseemly for the two of them to sleep side by side.

She imagined Tom and Katja sharing a bed, and Tom reaching over in the middle of the night and putting his arm around Katja, like he'd done to Lumi that one time. It had been an accident, she knew, and she had never mentioned it, but she had treasured the way his warm arm had draped across her body. She'd loved the feel of it. She didn't want him to accidentally drape his arm across Katja in the middle of the night.

Lumi wrapped the thick blankets around her body and stared up at the ceiling.

Only a couple of hours ago, Tom had seen her body. He was the first person other than her family and a few trusted servants who had seen her skin. She felt a hot wave of shame at the memory of how shocked he had been to see the scars running up and down her legs and arms. His misplaced anger towards Tai made her feel even more shame.

It was Lumi's own fault that her body was covered in scars.

After a few hours, Lumi was certain that Tom would not be joining her in the room that they were supposed to be sharing. The levels of shame and hatred that were coursing through her right now needed to be resolved. Lumi sat up in the bed and stared down at the ugly scars that bloomed over her legs.

She pressed her palm to her skin, wanting to feel the clean burn that would ease away the shame and sadness.

But as she felt her palm heat up, she threw her hand away in revulsion. She couldn't do it. Not after hearing the way Tom's voice had wavered as he'd told her that he would never forgive Tai.

In Lombardia, Raphael had loved Katja more than he could ever love Lumi. And now, it was clear that Lumi could never compete with Katja for Tom's affections, either. Katja had always been the prettier princess, the more dignified and polite princess. She was confident and in control, she knew how to win over crowds and address people and make people laugh. She could lead and she could make decisions, and people were naturally drawn to her.

Lumi was nervous and quiet and had never been good at speaking up, let alone standing up for herself. She had no experience in leading a small group, let alone a country or an empire. She was wildly unprepared for anything that life threw at her. And Tom could see that. He saw that she was nothing more than a child, whereas Katja was a strong and elegant young lady.

Of course he would love Katja more.

to be continued...

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