make me stay.

fifteen

♜

i woke up in utter darkness, refusing to believe that i had slept through the entire day.

glancing to my right, i sensed that the curtains were still pulled to the side, and the window open, the entire frame of the glass a thick black.
i glanced around, struggling to find stars, trees or anything on the other side. nothing.

i sat back, swinging my legs out over the edge of the bed. my hair had knotted up by me twisting and turning in my sleep as my brain decided to run over every event i had taken place in the last few days.

it would have to be monday today, meaning the last day of the festival was yesterday. they were probably already home by now. my stomach twisted into a tight knot as i pulled on the doorknob, opening the door to my room.

the socks i had been given were a few sizes too large, so i bent down to pull them up a bit further, before attempting to follow the same path through the castle as i had done last night.

had i really missed the entire day?

i met a few servants, passing me in the halls, but not one of them offered me a second glance. they met my eyes, some just took in my overall appearance, and averted their eyes as if their life depended on it. like would my stare turn them into stone.

in difference to last night, lights were lit in every single corner of every room. lights stood on every surface they possible could to light up the castle's walls; something that seemed strange to waste time on in the middle of the night. this did, however, make the way to the kitchen, much easier.

to my surprise the only man out of the six men i had seen a lot lately that seemed to be missing, was the one i had talked to last night when i had begun my previous trip to the kitchen. instead of him i saw mercer, nathaniel, harry and two others. 

"coast is currently addressing the situation in the towns that had to take in unexpected visitors. he should be back before sundown," nathaniel tells the group of men, but directs his speech to mercer.

"most didn't make it far down the mountain before the snow swallowed their roads. i've received the most complaints from the top towns," a man whom i had no name for said. "it seemed that the towns on the low side of the festival haven't been affected much,"

"our highest towns are the ones with the most capacity for new comers, so that would be a positive, despite the fact that privileged people tend to complain the most over unchangeable situations." mercer replies back, nodding towards harry.

"our infantry is keeping it mostly under control in the lower towns for now. the storm should be gone within tomorrow, but i will still be sending more soldiers down to make sure we don't suddenly have a rising conflict in our hands," harry says, meeting mercer's eyes. "with your approval, of course." he adds.

mercer nods. "do it." he tells harry, before turning his attention towards another man i wouldn't know, whom takes the word instantly.

"i have two ships scheduled to leave for the outer-ring tomorrow morning," he says. "we have been postponing shipments in that direction for weeks by now, and we can't continue, but the waters act up in a storm,"

mercer nods along with his words, a deep frown folding in his forehead. "we don't lose men from foreseen mistakes, maverick." he replies. "if the storm doesn't clear out in two days, we'll act, not before."

i change the weight onto one foot as i listen closely to their conversation, not understanding a word. it was clear they all had enough responsibility to last more years than they would all be alive. the conversation stops, however, as my movement is enough for one of them to notice my presence.