House of Bone

Chapter 16

Sometimes I regret pushing all my problems onto the next day.

Present me really hates past me right now, although I suppose if I did anything last night, present me would still be annoyed at past me due to lack of sleep.

It's really a lose–lose situation.

I groan, and notice a crinkled piece of paper laying on my sheets, I must have forgotten to put it somewhere safe before I headed to bed.

I roll over and grab it, attempting to smooth it out.

Ah, the letter I wrote to Ora.

I unfurl the paper, and read what my sleep–addled mind had written.

Ora,

Something urgent has came up.

I'm not sure if everything is normal here.

People have died.

I need to escape, and you know how you always wanted to be a part of a heist? Well, your dreams may be coming true, although the circumstances are probably not the ones you were hoping for as the consequences – most likely death.

I'm really hoping you could help here – and it wouldn't just be me, there's two others that would also need to escape wi me.

K

My sleep writing is not exactly the most legible or understandable, so I decide I'll re-write it after classes.

It feels really strange that we still have to go and do classwork, even after all of the things I've discovered about this place.

Sometimes it feels like the world should just pause around you, allowing you to achieve what needs to be done without the restraints time brings about.

I feel like this would be ten times easier if I was just given all of the time in the world to research and plan.

Actually, that sounds like it applies to everything in life. If only I could just stop time.

A knock on my door reminds me that I actually need to get up and prepare for said classes.

"Are you going to sleep in again today?" Tia's teases from behind the door.

"I'm up, I'm up." I open the door, and take a seat at the table, grabbing a bowl full of porridge as I do.

"Did I miss anything important yesterday?"

"Unless you were really hoping to see yet another match of Tia against Madam Hollia, no, not really. I assume Tia already filled you in with the new testing situation, so no news there."

I chuckle, and then nod. I wish I could inform them of the reasons there's now double the amount of tests. But that whole thing will have to wait until after classes.

If only I hadn't come here, then those two wouldn't have to deal with the extra pain and torment the testing brings. They're only clamping down on the amount of stuff that happens there, because I'm some unknown lady's daughter, who the Empress and the General don't like.

What did she do to piss them off?

And if she's so infamous, then why isn't it written down anywhere?

Surely someone who's that troublesome would have their 'deeds' recorded somewhere, right?

I shake myself back into the present before I go down into a spiral of guilt and confusion.

"Did I miss the quiz in laws yesterday?"