Rani is awake.
Well it could barely be called waking really, her vision swirls in and out, time disappearing in stretches of feverous darkness. There are moments of near lucidity, where her senses are almost within her grasp, moments when she's close enough to the world that it scrapes against the edges of her mind before everything fades again.
In those moments she knows, something is wrong.
She's burning from the inside out, brow slicked with sweat even as shivers wrack her body. Each beat of her heart makes her vision shudder.
This must be dying. If this is health, it is not worth living in.
Her vision has come back. Rani is not sure if she was asleep or simply blinded by the pain.
An unfamiliar woman is leaving over her, trying to coax her into drinking something. She's in a room worn by time yet cozy, the faint smell of cedar smoke hanging around them.
The floorboard squeaks, someone outside of her vision approaching, and Rani slips back under the waves.
A floorboard squeaks its violent protest as Rani hops up and down.
Small hands shove her shoulder, but Rani continues to shift her weight against the screaming floorboard.
"Move Rani!"
"You will never move me!" She gasps between fits of giggles even as her frail, ten-year-old frame is dragged off the board.
"I just want to fix this so we can do something else."
Her sister kneels, placing her hands over the board that's been squeaking for weeks. Her face, the mirror of Rani's own, pinches in concentration.
Rani watches as the floor bends and warps under her sister's touch, boards popping, nails straightening as all signs of wear dissolve.
The other girl looks back up at Rani, a grin crossing her face.
The face before her morphs into a sad smile. The look of a Saint watching someone fall, knowing they can do nothing.
The King turns his head, speaking to someone out of Rani's view, "We won't be intruding on your hospitality for too much longer."
"Are you sure it's safe to move her now? Poor dear seems to be doing awfully."
The world around Rani moves like a dream.
The unfamiliar woman steps closer, peering down at Rani's prone form. Neither party seems to notice that she's awake. If she truly is. Perhaps she's simply dreaming once more, though this one is not as pleasant as the last.
"I've sent for the best healers I know. They can help her but I can't in good conscience keep intruding on your home."
The King presses the woman's hand between his in a gesture of thanks.
The woman smiles, "Your fiancé is very lucky to have you."
The world starts to slip away again as a fresh wave of heat tears through Rani's body, her side throbbing in pain.
Pain shoots through Rani's side. She's 16 when she hits the ground hard, dirt kicking up around her, caking its way into her newly laundered uniform.
"Where is she?"
Rani coughs, blood dribbling from her lips. Still, she can't keep the savage smile from her face.
"She's gone."
This time a kick comes instead of a punch, landing against Rani's ribs, making her curl in on herself.
YOU ARE READING
heartless | nikolai lantsov
Fanfiction"You enjoy knowing someone in your palace would as soon have a knife to your throat as help you?" "Oh, I count on it, keeps my wits sharp." \\ Kidnapping the King of Ravka was easy. Until it wasn't. When her plan goes awry, Rani is given two choi...
