Not Your Princess

Chapter Thirty

Henrick makes quiet noises as he leaves Asch alone in her bedroom. The door's creak is much quieter than normal. Had she not been lying awake in her bed, she likely would not have noticed the guard's absence.

For the first time in six months, Henrick is finally taking a break from watching over Asch. She should be happy that he is able to find something to do outside of Asch. Her black hole is no longer sucking him into the void and he is able to take a step away.

With Henrick constantly watching over her, however, she was never alone in her grief. It was something the pair had shared with one another. Both Asch and Henrick felt August's absence as a hole in their chest. Though their wounds weren't identical, they were still obvious.

Now, it appears Henrick is starting to move on with the rest of the world, leaving Asch alone with the grief.

Everyone else is moving on, her mind chides. And all you can do is lay in bed.

Her hand grabs the thick blanket, throwing the covers off of her. It takes her a moment to sit up and put her feet on the ground. It takes even longer for her to stand up. Some of the bones in her body crack from the movement, finally being used after months of laying in bed.

Asch passes a mirror in her journey to the door. The woman that she sees looks nothing like the one she remembers. This one is more jagged lines and sallow cheeks. Her hair is an unkept mess with most of the ends matted. The woman that she currently sees looks as though the world has broken her apart bit-by-bit until there was nothing left.

The sight makes Asch want to lay back down in bed and never get up again. Somehow, she manages to tear her gaze away from the reflection and continue walking toward the room's exit.

Crickets fill the hallway with sound, chirping a soft melody that she could not hear from her bedroom. Moonlight gives it a soft glow, allowing Asch to see a foot in front of herself. She strains her ears to listen for any sounds before she lifts one of her hands.

It has been months since she has called to the fire inside of her, so it takes a few tries for the beast to respond. The fire acts like a petulant child, barely stirring when she summons it. After her fifth attempt of producing the flame in her hand, a small fire dances across her fingertips.

The glow from the fire is so soft it is barely noticeable. She wants to go mostly unnoticed, however, so she makes due with what she has.

The young woman has no purpose in wandering the halls. There is not a particular person she wants to see nor is there a room she seeks out. Her legs simply carry her in a direction while her mind begins to empty out of all thoughts.

She does not hear the voices until she passes the map room that August used to frequent. The door is open by a small crack, allowing a small stream of candlelight to filter into the hallway. It's faint enough where she would not have noticed had she not backtracked to listen to the voices.

"What are you doing here?" Henrick demands. "You cannot be here."

Curiosity drives Asch to douse the flames in her hand and to inch closer to the door. She knows that Henrick would be incredibly angry to find her eavesdropping on his conversation. That doesn't stop her from leaning her ear closer to the door.

"That's such a funny word," a feminine voice states. There's a familiarity to it that Asch cannot place. "'Cannot' means that something is an impossibility and since I'm standing right in front of you—"

"This isn't funny, Rosetta," Henrick snaps. "If anyone catches you here, then you may be arrested."

Asch nearly startles backward from the name. It simply has to be a coincidence. Her sister is dead, not here in the palace. The woman that Henrick is speaking to has to be someone else.