An Eternal Wintre

Chapter 3

Anai lies awake in bed early in the morning before even the sun rises and the birds start calling outside her window. The world continues on all around her as if it isn't aware of what she is and what she's becoming. A monster.

Soon the maid would come, Ruby, making her get ready for another boring day of the same old things. The only light in her day now, it seems, is her lessons with the professor. Would he understand if she told him? Or would he turn his back on her in fear and disgust? Anai didn't want to find out.

With a loud yawn, she sits up and runs a hand through her messy hair, tangling her fingers through it and getting them stuck. As she yanks on them, Ruby comes in without a knock, finding the girl on her bed wrestling with her own hair. The girl simply smiles abashedly before getting up to go bathe. Ruby watches her with curious eyes.

The water is ice cold when she gets in. Anai waits for Ruby and for the water to heat up before the bath but it never does. It warms a tiny bit when Ruby gets there and she seems to notice the water's temperature as well. "How odd," she remarks. "I'll find out the problems with the pumps later this evening. For now..." She trails off as she dumps a bucket of cold water over Anai's head. Her hair falls into her face, blinding her and the routine commences.

Today she's put into a jade colored dress with pearls in her hair that's been braided down her back. The pearls are hardly noticeable in her hair but Ruby doesn't agree. When does she ever?

Anai goes through her day as always, itching to get to Professor Kol's as soon as possible. Sunlight streams through the windows in each room she sits in, warming the entire place and making her skin itch. An odd sensation burns under her skin with the warmth, as if her skin shies away from the comforting feeling.

When the time for the professor's lessons comes, Anai is almost jittery with irritation. As she walks to the library she's stopped by a couple of guards, their hands on the hilt of their swords. "His majesty would like to see you for a moment," the shorter of the two says, his voice raspy and low. His companion says nothing. Anai simply nods and lets them lead her to the king's office.

The king is a kind looking man, one with warm eyes that sees no wrong when there really is none, eyes that are trusting and hardly ever angry even if one's made a mistake. His hair is jet-black, no gray, as if he doesn't age or stress isn't a problem for him. His eyes are a warm brown, like the queen's, their son odd with his blue ones. Even now, Anai having walked out on him yesterday, he still smiles as she enters the room. "Ah, Anai, how are you today my child?" he asks, his voice full of fatherly love.

"I'm fine, thank you," she replies, curt. She doesn't know why she is so rude to a man that's so kind to her, to the people that have taken her in and given her everything a girl could want. Why can't she accept their kindness? Even she doesn't understand.

The king motions for her to sit. She listens and puts her hands on the armrests in a dominating way, looking him directly in the eyes. "I'm sorry for my behavior yesterday," the king starts. Already Anai feels uncomfortable. The king apologizes to no one, yet here he is, doing it to a mere girl who is just a speck in the world. "Eliza and I wouldn't know what we'd do without you Anai. You're like a daughter to us, like family." Anai has no words, she only sits and waits till she can leave. Her fingers start to twitch slightly. The king doesn't notice.

When their meeting ends, Anai is excused with a hug and a warm smile. Her arms grow cold as she walks down the halls towards the library.

Once in the vast room of shelves and books where it should always be a place of warmth and solace, all she feels is a cold biting deep in her core. Her skin is like ice.

The professor is stacking books into the shelves, standing high on a ladder and balancing a large tower of books in one hand. It looks precarious and lethal, but Anai knows how the professor is and gets her own stack to put away.