The Heiress Of Ronzerony

01

Chapter 1 | Strange Normality

It is cold, though there is no wind at all. Everything is cryptically shielded with fog, banning any sort of sight. Fear can be felt ascending in the atmosphere of flawless darkness.

Suddenly there is a flash of an image, accompanied with the faint whispers of screams. The image is of raging fire, swallowing all that is in its way. The flames dance devilishly, and shadows of figures sprint away in huge terrorized mobs. The image turns into the cluttering of enormous wings, which look a bit ripped at the edges, nevertheless sharp as knives. The sound of their slow clapping echoes around, the feeling of heat radiating off them invading the spaces between the atoms of the ambiance.

It all vanishes at once, replaced by darkness even greater than the one before. Soon after, snowflakes start dripping down like rhythmic notes of a lullaby, and a figure, engulfed in a red hooded cloak, emerges slowly between the serene downfalls of pure almost-see-through snow.

"Hailee?"

The sleeping figure of Hailee Clifton shot up in fear. Her golden blonde locks of hair stuck to her forehead in beads of sweat, her lips were trembling rapidly as she tightly clutched the soft fabric of the blanket covering her legs. She looked up as a hand came caressing her damp hair softly, and her hazel-green orbs met the brown lakes of warmth and worry of her aunt, Penelope.

"Are you okay, dear?" her aunt asked, cupping the girl's small angular face in her hand. Hailee nodded lightly, her eyes moving from her aunt's to the pink digital alarm clock on her nightstand. Once she realized that it was seven thirty in the morning, she screeched and got out of bed, cursing herself for being late again for the school bus as she headed for a shower to take. "You can skip school if you'd like!" her aunt called after her, touching her voice was a wave of concern and slight amusement. "I'm fine!" Hailee called back, shutting the door behind her as she went inside the bathroom.

The truth is Hailee was not in need of a shower just for the sole reason of getting the sticky cold sweat off her pale white skin; she was hoping she would scrub off all the feelings of her dream with the gentle scent of lavender and the harsh scouring she would do with the beige old sponge. She turned the water on, seeing it change from icy to steaming hot before she stripped down and threw her clothes in the laundry basket placed under the sink. She adjusted the water to become lake warm, and went in, feeling the soothing warmth comfort her every fiber and tight muscle.

Ten minutes later, she was out of the bathroom, her body enveloped in a purple robe and her hair a curly mess. She brushed it out and changed into a pale vintage pink sweater and jeans, put on her sneakers swiftly and then rushed down the stairs for a fast breakfast.

She yanked the refrigerator's door open, got out the medium sized carton of milk, and poured herself a glass of it. She drank it in two big gulps, her aunt watching her in amusement from the kitchen door. "Aren't you going to sit down for some real breakfast?" she asked, seeing as Hailee slung her backpack over her shoulder and was ready to leave. "I'm running late, Auntie. I promise to spend dinner with you, though." Hailee replied, a guilty promising smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she neared her aunt for a quick peck on the cheek before she left the house.

The chilly wind stung like sharp needles at Hailee's soft facial skin, and she thanked God internally that she wore gloves over her hands. The ground under her feet made sounds of splashing water as she stepped onto the shallow puddles of rain fall-downs. She stood at the bus station, which was a five-minute walk away from her house. A few minutes later of cars driving by and the occasional silence that seemed to capture the neighborhood in a haunting captivating way and waiting for the bus to arrive, it finally has, and Hailee mounted it fast, not being able to stand the cold anymore.