Shiver

Chapter Three Grown Up Things

Dedicated to my bestest fan and a sweet girl :)Remember to vote or comment? PIc is of 16 year old Lilya, please tell me if it looks to old, i don't think so :) BTW she is 15 but during the queens trip she turns 16, birthdays arn't important, she relies on what the queen tells her

Grown up meant doing grown up things. The Queen taught me how to care for my bleeding she said would come regularly, once a moon to be exact. I did not understand how to be proud of the blood, something that I was sure never happened to Ba’thraishva, pushing me even farther from my idealistic image I yearned to be. She said that I would soon discover why and understand in time, Which I hoped would be soon.

Over the course of the next year and a half she loved me again, ordering I had the care I did as a child, meaning I was given a heated bath every night, my hair was well cared for and I was assigned tutors in literature and language. I was also required to wear new attire; instead of my accustomary tunic, I was given a soft which dress which flowed to my knees in the summer, and in the winter long, thick pants and a knitted sweater in the winter, even a special pair of undergarments (slightly uncomfortable) to support my growing bosom and something like super short shorts the Queen called panties, made of silk and lace, making my undressed reflection blush.

 Soon my ribs disappeared when they began to feed me properly, I was gaining weight to my dismay, not in the belly, my chest grew larger, shoulders a bit wider, arms and legs became long and graceful, by the middle of my fifteenth year Ba’thraishva ordered Sonya to teach me how to dance- to complement my singing voice which became mature, and put my long legs to use. It seemed every time I looked at my reflection in the clear stream water I became more of what I wanted to be.

One morning in the heart of winter she woke me early, before the sun had even raised, “Lilya, Lilya my child.” She whispered, gently shaking me awake.

My blurry eyes opened to the open door, making my body shiver, outside many small fluffy clouds fell gracefully from the sky, ‘snow’; I looked back at her tender smile, “snow…?”

She nodded slowly, letting me wake, “I am leaving for my winter hunt.”

I sat up and stretched, “oh, I will see you off then Ba’thraishva.” I smiled, and closed my eyes, for a moment I could have sworn I saw a glimpse of jealousy, I was ashamed it made me not only curious, but also pleased. I hid this however and stood with her.

“Thank you my dear, I will try and return as soon as possible- and this time I have a surprise for you when I return!” she smiled kindly, but something warned me against questioning, ‘what type of surprise?’

Instead I returned her smile, faking my excitement, “really? I can’t wait!”

Ba’thraishva patted my cheek and ran her fingers through my hair like I loved, “I must make some last minute preparations, why don’t you get dressed in that nice coat I got you?”

I nodded and watched her walk out, her dress swaying slightly, she was in a hurry; as soon as her footsteps disappeared I turned to my closet and wrapped myself in the shiny brown coat, I was told it was bear fur, whatever animal a bear was I felt bad for it having such bad luck being caught by the Queen. I could only pray it was a quick death like the poor cats fed to the guard creatures never given a name.

I then thanked the snow for finally arriving; lately I have been craving alone time, Ba’thraishva, as much as I adored her, the whole Tajbel seemed worth my weariness. Of course, I just took it as another change in my body. She said that with my monthly bleeding not only by body would change but even the way I think! That scared me more than the bleeding, which brought awful cramping and headache, even going as far as to stretch my stomach, Sonya called it bloating.