Blossom Heart (E. Smith)

Chapter One

Morning sunlight warms Ionia's face as it streams in through the open window across from where she lays in a bed. Soft blankets underneath her and over her. It's probably the most comfortable she has been in many years and that is the first thing that she notices when she wakes up. Feeling a little better in herself. She doesn't feel as drained, so she can assume she's been sleeping and not just unconscious. But she still feels drained in a way. She's not sure she can explain it. It's something that has been there for as long as she can remember. She sits up, brushing her fingers through her hair to push it out of her face only to find that she is not alone. There is a man in this room with her. The same man that she had seen the night before. He's sitting at the desk across the room, writing in a journal. The only sound in the room is that of his quill scratching at the pages. He is a lot older than her memories portray him, which makes sense as she was much smaller in them. He looks tired too. Not just that he's been awake all night, but bone tired. He leans up a little as if sensing her eyes on him, he turns to look at her, immediately pushing himself to his feet when he realises that she is awake.

"How are you feeling?" He asks her softly. Ionia lets out a long breath as she ponders the question. She doesn't know the answer to that. There is still so much she doesn't understand, and until she does, she won't feel right. She will feel lost and confused. He seems to sense that she is not going to answer that question so he turns back to the desk and picks something from the top of it. He sighs and stares down at it before he turns back to face her. "Where did you get this?" He asks her as he holds up what he has in his hand. Her necklace dangles between his fingers. Her fingers immediately reach up for her neck, eyes wide with the realisation that he's taken it off of her. He's clutching to it like it's the most important thing in the world. His eyes flicker between hers, trying to get a read on her. She can see when he realises. The way his eyes widen and soften at the same time. Seeing her sitting there in front of him. Looking so much older than he last saw her. "Ionia" He whispers, staring at her. She pulls her knees to her chest and wraps her arms around them, looking away from him. She feels a strange sense of anger starts to fizzle in her chest. Him looking at her like that is making her feel really angry. She pulls her knees tighter to her and rests her cheek on the top of them. Hiding herself from him. She is not ready to confront whatever this is. Her mind is still too fuzzy. Too confused. Too tired. Too hungry. Grisha sighs and closes his eyes. Can see that he is not going to get anywhere with her right now. He lets out a breath and nods a little. "There is a change of clothing and some food on the dresser," He tells her as he gathers his journal from the desk. "I'll come back later to check on you" He adds and gives her one last look before he leaves the room, shutting the door behind him. Ionia doesn't really want to move from the bed but food sounds perfect right about now. Just to appease the stabbing pain in her stomach. She slides off of the bed, almost tumbling to the floor when she puts her weight on her feet. They are deeply sore from walking through the cobbles the night before, and the wilds beyond, but she keeps her footing as she crosses the room to the dresser. The clothes are simple. A shirt and some trousers and a pair of boots. It's been so long since she's worn shoes though. She never had a pair back home. Her eyes shift to the tray of food. It's some form of soup, she thinks. It's a smooth liquid of some kind. She leans closer to sniff at it. It doesn't really smell of anything. She sighs. She's too hungry to even care at this point. She takes the bowl and the spoon from the tray and moves back to the bed to eat it. Wherever she is, she will figure it out once she is strong enough to do so with some level of security and strength. She is going to be no good in a fight if it comes down to it, right now. Too weak to stand let alone fight if she needs to. Not that she knows if she needs to. She doesn't know where she is and right now, she has no reason to think that they'll be a fight. She touches her neck. Her necklace gone with Grisha. Her father. She has no reason to distrust these people, so why does she?