An Eternal Wintre

Chapter 23

Days pass before Anai finally wakes up. A bandage is wrapped around her head, covering the eye that is now gone. It's clean, no blood soaking through it.

She opens her right eye, everything blurry. As she sits up, pain lances through her behind the eyes. Wincing, she places her hand on the bandage and feels the dip where an eyeball should be. She feels dead inside, as if the betrayal was a stab to the heart.

Prince Mal lies asleep on the couch across from the bed by the doorway. His hair falls over his eyes, draping them beautifully. His chest rises and falls with each breath he takes. The sound of his breathing calms and irritates Anai all at once. She scratches at the bandage and gets up to bathe.

The window's fixed she notices when she walks by it. They can fix the damn window but not my eye. Bitterness wasn't her favorite emotion but she felt it greatly seeing how easy it is to fix other things.

After she's done, she peeks into the room to make sure the prince is still asleep before trotting into the room on light feet and dressing. Her dress is straight down her body and jet-black. It shines when hit by the light.

Dropping the towel to the ground and lacing up the dress, she stays barefoot and looks at herself in the mirror. Her perfect face was now marred by the loss of her left eye. She grows angry but it quickly diminishes when she looks at her remaining eye. The eye of somebody who's died. "I have died already," she whispers.

Tying her hair into a high bun with wavy strands of hair framing her face, she gazes with one last look into the mirror before sliding on flats and gazing at the prince. He is now the true heir and will soon take his rightful place on the throne in a couple weeks. She'll soon become queen of Lutenia. Being queen wasn't good enough when she had a king in her way.

Anai's hand wraps loosely around the hilt of her dagger she stabbed Corax with. It was hidden under her pillow, probably by Cain. She points it at the prince's exposed throat and stares at the boy who's so trusting to sleep in another's room without any worries. Guards would be outside the room but what did that matter? Let them all betray her now for all she cared. She didn't need them.

As she presses the sharp edge of metal to the prince's throat, an idea strikes her and she turns to the medicine containers on her bedside table. Hiding the knife under her skirts, she walks over to the containers and picks up the blue one. She takes out two and hides them in her bosom. Grabbing a piece of parchment and a pen in her vanity, she scribbles down a note and places it on the prince's chest.

She leaves the prince where he lies and walks into the hallway to find two guards on either side of her door, both standing at attention with hands resting on their hilts. They tense when the door opens but slowly relax when it's just Anai walking out for breakfast. Breakfast she can't even stomach. Fools.

They let her by with ease. Her flats slap against the wooden floor of the hall all the way to the dining hall. Servants were cleaning and bustling around frantically.

Nobody sits in the dining hall as she sits down at her chair. A server appears and asks what she'd like. "Just toast and jam and whatever the prince prefers in the mornings. He'll be joining me soon." She flashes a warm smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes, but the server doesn't notice and smiles back before leaving with her order.

They come back with her breakfast with a side of fruit and water, and places the prince's food at a place beside her. When they leave, she places the tablets into his drink and watches them dissolve.

Prince Mal must've read her note for he appears in the doorway, hair messy and guards behind him. His eyes are tired but seem to light up at the sight of her finally up after days of rest. "How are you feeling Anai?" he asks and kisses her cheek before sitting down.