Hoping it was just a trick that my anxious mind was playing on me, I remained in place, my breaths stilling and my eyes darting to the lamp I had turned on. I listened for the sound to repeat, hoping it wouldn't.
When it did, my heart nearly leaped out of my chest. The quiet knock that rapped against the door nearly had me jumping out the window along with it given how tightly wound up I was. My eyes darted to the sliver of space below the door, finding the faint shadow of someone standing on the other side.
Whoever was on the other side could see that the light was on through the slit under the door.
Swinging my leg back inside hastily, I was careful to land on the tips of my toes that were wrapped in every single pair of stockings I could find inside the dresser. I was also wearing more than one shift underneath and a thin and somewhat comfortable bra that I had found tucked away in the back. It would give me some of the support that my girlies needed, but I could see why it was tucked away like an afterthought. Most fae I had seen, at least most of the female ones at least, Aster included, were tall, willowy, and thin. Their breasts could support themselves. Mine would otherwise need to be held in place while I ran off into the dark trees that surrounded the castle past the maze of gardens and stretches of grassy fields.
Or across the small room.
Jerking the window shut as far as I could, I moved the curtains to conceal it and the sheet tied to the bed's leg, covering it and where it led out the open window. Turning on my toes, the layers of tights muffled the sound of my steps and made it easy to move quickly and quietly. It was a good thing because I only managed to get the curtains in place to make everything look normal when I heard the familiar sound of metal keys clinking together on a ring. Realizing who it was, I hastened my steps further, nearly sprinting to my target- the thick and heavy duvet I had brought with me from Rowan's bedroom. It had been too heavy and hard to tie into the makeshift rope, but it turned out that was a blessing in disguise.
Just like the small room I had found so suffocating moments earlier. I could count the number of steps it took me to reach the duvet on one hand as well as the seconds.
Reaching down, I firmly grasped it by one of its corners as the first rattle of the door knob sounded. My heart leaped into my throat as I turned on my heels to dive for the bed. Trying to calm my breath so I wasn't nearly panting, I spread the duvet out, intending to cover the sight of the bed I had stripped bare and my unusual choice of 'sleep attire.' Since the heavy material was cut and designed for a queen or king sized bed, it covered everything with ease.
As I sunk into the bed and pulled the cover up to my chin, the sound of the lock turning and clicking open sounded. I turned my head to the side and shut my eyes as the knob began to turn and the door was pushed open.
"May?" Aster called in a whisper, one that sounded curious, as if she was questioning if I was awake but didn't want to rouse me if I wasn't.
Shouldn't she have been sleeping? It wasn't even 5 am yet!
Keeping my eyes shut and my breaths even and measured I didn't so much as twitch at her call. I remained still, pretending to sleep. Even when I heard the door creak and be pushed open further. The soft shuffle of feet followed as she quietly stepped forward.
A part of me struggled not to crack my eye open and see what she was doing, but a larger part that knew what was at expense and kept me from making the mistake. Instead, I remained still, trying to appear calm and relaxed.
It was difficult to feign with adrenaline pumping through my veins.
The air shifted beside the bed where I lay. A soft thump sounded and after a faint rustle, the faint reddish-orange color I could see of light through my shut eyelids snapped to pitch black at its absence.
