All That Fell Down

5

Since that morning, Cassandra found traces of Zorya everywhere.

Little wooden wolf heads in between her bathroom robes; at the bottom of her breakfast; near her favourite place in the palace garden; beside her pillow.

Zorya was nowhere.

Zorya was everywhere.

She woke up early everyday so that she could read the messages in the wolf mask she knew Zorya left every night.

Cassandra tried staying awake all night, to try and catch Zorya in the midst of her adorable mischief; but it never worked. Zorya never appeared. But Cassandra might have mistaken a blink for nap too. She wasn't in the best of health you see.

Cass, I'm so grateful I have met you – your wolf

Cass, you cried today. Is there anything I can do to make it better? – your wolf

Cass, Trevor is really an ass, isn't he? I'm going to make him slip on a banana, just wait & see today – your wolf

It always started out with 'Cass'. Cassandra hated anyone who shortened her name, because how dare they? There are a million Cass. A million of them who had normal, untroubled lives. A million who were allowed to roam the streets with freedom. A million who weren't lied to for their own protection. She hated it. Because it felt like another sweet lie. Because it felt like she was any other Cass in the world. But she wasn't. She was Cassandra Helsinki, Princess of Ventura, diagnosed with a heart disease, over protected by her family & having barely lived outside the main palace. She wasn't a Cass. She will never be. No matter how much she wanted to. So, she loathed anyone who called her Cass. Because they are selling her a sweet lie again. She was tired of being lied to.

She loathed anyone but Zorya. It couldn't be explained, but it felt like Zorya could never do wrong by her. Zorya was a fresh of breath air.

It always a remark about something that happened that day for the body paragraph. It reminded Cassandra that Zorya was watching over her. All her moves, all the time. She hated anyone who did that. Her family, the guards, the servants. All of them afraid of her, afraid for her. She was tired of being doted on. Tired of feeling like the weakling that needed to be protected. She hated everyone who watched over her.

She hated everyone but Zorya. Because Zorya wasn't waiting for the moment Cassandra fails; like the other are. She knew Zorya wasn't waiting to come to Cassandra's rescue (though she knew, no doubt, Zorya would). She knew Zorya watched her because she wanted to; because it brought Zorya joy. She knew it was because she captured Zorya, entirely. And that made her feel warm. She hasn't felt warm in years.

It always ended with 'your wolf'. Cassandra hated calling anything hers. Because it was all temporary. It all became temporary with time. Somehow, calling something yours felt like a curse. Say it and you lose it. She used to have stuffed wolf when she was little. She loved it. It was hers. And then it wasn't. No one knew where it went. The whole palace checked every spot of the grounds. It vanished into thin air. Just like her health, and her life - once she claimed it as her own, they vanished. So, she stopped. She never claimed anything hers.

Until now. She was afraid. Because she really wanted to call Zorya her wolf. But the last wolf she called hers never came back to her. But Zorya did. In a way, she felt like the lost wolf from her childhood returned. And with it, the joy she left behind after she was diagnosed.

She felt like a little girl again. With the brightest hope. With the biggest smile. With the healthiest heart. So, she called Zorya her little wolf. She loved her little wolf.

As much as she loved her, she wanted nothing more than to see her. She was afraid she was forgetting her. It has been 2 weeks since that night they decided to be strangers. She knew security was getting tighter. Her father knows about a possible attack.

Regat vs Ventura.

Zorya vs Cassandra.

There was no way she could see her.

There was no way she could let Zorya risk more than whatever she is already risking.

There was no way she could not see her.

So, she found a way to see her.