A Wicked Game [The Crown Saga II] (Under Editing)

House of the Wave

I grunted as the light from the winter sun poured angrily through the windows, urging me to stop clinging to the comfort of my bed and seize the day.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," Faye sang, her cheery voice leaving me torn between glee and resentment.

My body still ached from Art's relentless training last night, bruises branding the skin I hid under my nightgown like paint on a miserable canvas. No healers had been present in the infirmary when I'd stumbled in there during the dead of night, so I'd spent many pathetic hours twisting and turning to find a position that hurt less than others until I finally fell asleep. However, it still delighted me to hear the untroubled spirit in her voice again after so long.

"Master Arthur told Caiden to cancel my classes this morning, Faye," I mumbled into the pillow. "I've been allowed to sleep in."

"I know," Faye said, still humming merrily as if my words didn't touch her. "That's why I've waited until now to awaken you from your heavy slumber. It's almost noon."

"Noon?" I said, defying the burning sun and forcing my eyes wide open. The room was bright, the sun grinning high up on the blank winter sky. I had been sleeping through the morning.

"By the blood of the damned spirits, Will!" Faye suddenly exclaimed.

I twisted my head, worried she might have found a dead animal or something worse. "What?" I said, ready to jump out of my bed if the danger presented itself.

"Haven't you opened the package yet?" Faye said, her brow furrowed as she pointed at the box she'd placed on my vanity table last night.

I groaned, sinking back into my pillows. "I didn't exactly have a lot of time yesterday," I said, careful not to directly admit that I had completely forgotten about that package. "I got back at—"

A gasp drowned the rest of my words, my hands instinctively catching the box that Faye carelessly threw at me. "Open it. Miss Evelyn was very specific about getting this to you as fast as possible."

Then a smile spread on her face, her lips pressed to two thin lines as if she fought to suppress the urge to laugh aloud. "Maybe you should take a shower while you're at it," she said, turning to enter the bathroom.

I twisted my brow, confused by her reaction, until I saw the monstrosity staring back at me through the mirror on my vanity table. My unruly hair stood in every direction, imprinted lines from the pillowcase stretched across the right side of my face, and a trail of dried drool reached from the corner of my mouth across my cheek.

"Master Arthur put me through a lot yesterday, okay?" I shouted to Faye, rubbing my chin to get rid of the drool.

"Sure," Faye replied, chuckling carefully. "I'm not implying anything."

I chuckled. Her laugh soothed my ears. It had been a while since I'd last heard it. "Right," I said, snapping open the golden package in my lap as told.

A golden envelope lay on top of a fitted shirt and a pair of pants. I shortly wondered if this was one of Evie's outrageous exercises, where we would be instructed to burn the pants as a token of our dedication to the dresses she urged us to wear.

"What is this for?" I asked, praying to the ancient spirits these clothes were for me to wear and not burn.

"Read the letter," Faye said from the bathroom.

I slumped my shoulders, closing my tired eyes as I groaned. "Can't you just explain it to me?" I complained, clutching the pants closer against my chest. "I'm too tired to reeeead."

"Read the letter, Will," she said again, determinedly. "Explaining this stuff to you always takes forever, with you constantly interrupting me to ask the questions I would've answered eventually."