Nadia turned and turned in her bed. Sleep would not come to her tonight. Falcon had decided that they should go to the caves tomorrow as soon as sun sets. It was going to be a long day, she should relax and be energetic for what was to come, but her mind would just not stop thinking. Her heart was jumping nervously. Her body was sweating. It was as if her body was preparing her to run a marathon.
She got on her back and stared out the window. She could view the stars lining the sky. She could hear the crickets outside and the sound of whooshing of the leaves and the woods. If she let her mind wander every sound felt frightening even when she was aware that was what the woods sounded like at night.
She got up. Sleep was not an option. Her mind was alert. She was becoming more and more aware rather than letting her mind slip away from her.
She juggled on the idea of getting something to eat from the kitchen when she heard a noise.
Not from outside her house but inside.
That was not surprising. Instead of only two people, which she was used to, three people were staying in the house.
She slept in her room. Father Clay, annoyed that they didn't have beds his size had declared he was going to find his own lodgings for the night, went away after dinner to sleep god knows where. Falcon slept on the couch downstairs.
Nadia had felt bad for him so she offered to sleep in the couch instead but he looked so affronted after she said that, that Nadia dropped the idea.
She peeped outside her door. Across from her door Minerva's door was slightly ajar and light pooled out. So she was awake. Nadia didn't want anything to do with her, so she decided to go to the kitchen and get herself a glass of water instead.
She stared down the stairs and inadvertently got a peek inside Minerva's room.
Minerva was sitting precariously at the edge of the bed. She was staring at something in her hands. It must be a small something because Nadia could not see from the doorway what it was.
As she got slightly closer to get a better look, a floorboard creaked. Nadia groaned inwardly.
"Nadia?" Minerva called out. She clasped her hand shut and stuffed whatever she was holding inside a bag.
She turned around and their eyes met.
No escaping this now. Nadia came inside the room.
Minerva's room had always been non descriptive. It had never changed over the years. Nothing fancy to hang on the wall. No clock. No painting or anything showy. She only had what she absolutely needed. There was a single bed at the corner of the room. A wooden cupboard beside it and a wooden desk and chair near the window with multiple cabinets.
They were always locked. As a child, Nadia had tried to see where she was keeping the keys and wanted to sneak a peak inside the drawer but she never could figure out and asking her about it was out of the question.
They both stared at each other and said nothing. She would have cowered earlier maybe tried to avoid her at all costs but Nadia' betrayed feelings had festered into hatred. She remembered everything she had done , everything she had endured for this woman. This woman had betrayed a small girl who had nothing but devotion for her.
She grasped at thin straws and tried to float for a long time. Every small smile, every small worry, every small kindness , Nadia magnified in her head and held on to it. But Minerva had used her for the money. She had kept her hidden so that no else could steal her prize, her golden hen.
She looked her squarely. She wouldn't shy away from someone like that.
Minerva spoke first. "Are you going to the East?"
YOU ARE READING
The Caged Princess(Book 1)
Fantasy"If her head wasn't stuck under water she would have wailed and cried. Her body trembling. She had no sense of self. Hardly noticed that the water's temperature had dropped further to a freezing degree. "There was just one thing. One solid thing. T...
