Queen of Ice and Ruin

Chapter Nine

I opened my eyes and found myself in the woods. My ribs hurt, as though I had been shoved into something, but I couldn't remember what had happened. Looking down, I saw that my sneakers were torn and filthy, and my leggings had a tear that revealed a bloody gash on my calf. The nighttime air was cool, and I realized that I was shivering. I frantically whipped my head around, trying to find my bearings. I saw a tree ahead of me that looked familiar – an old oak tree that I used to climb as a child.

I approached the tree, looking for the telltale sign that this was, in fact, my climbing tree. I smiled with relief when I found my name carved into the trunk. Annalise. I reached out to touch it, my fingers tracing the letters of my name, but as I made contact, I felt a searing pain shoot up my arm. My vision went bright white, then pitch black. When I could see again, I found myself once again in the woods. But something was wrong – these weren't my woods. I looked at the oak tree that loomed above me, but my name was nowhere to be found.

--

I had been awake for a while when Telos arrived, but I had yet to get out of bed. The dream I'd had that night was troubling, and I couldn't tell whether I had remembered something, or if my mind was trying to fill in the gaps with fantasy. There was an ache behind my eyes that I couldn't seem to shake off. Still, when I heard Telos arrived, I forced myself out of bed and walked downstairs, not bothering to ready myself.

I entered the dining room, where I found Telos waiting for me to join him for breakfast. I noticed him briefly raise his eyebrows when I walked in, but he corrected his face quickly so I said nothing. My nightgown was wrinkled from having been slept in, and my hair was probably a mess. "Good morning, Annalise," he greeted me with a smile, but I saw concern in his eyes.

"Morning," I replied, dropping into a chair across the table from him.

Breakfasts had been simple while Corrin was away. I never ate much in the mornings, which the cooks had clearly figured out. A small platter with toasted bread, cheeses, honey, and jam waited for me, along with a pot of tea. Telos was kind enough to pour a cup for me, and I took a sip. It had cooled – how long had I waited before coming to eat? Still, I continued to sip my tea, the concoction already easing the pain in my head.

"Please, eat with me," I requested, motioning to the food and tea. "It feels strange for you to watch me."

Telos obliged, helping himself to a piece of toast and jam. "This is a quaint meal," he commented.

I nodded my head in response and took a bite of my toast, spread with cheese and honey. "I don't have much of an appetite in the mornings, I'm afraid."

"I see."

"Will you just ask me what's wrong instead of giving me that look?" I said, locking eyes with Telos.

His cheeks went pink. "I'm sorry, I wanted to give you time to settle..."

"I had a dream," I told him, not waiting for the question to come. "An oak tree with my name carved into it."

Telos said nothing, but nodded his head, waiting for me to continue. "I was running from something. And bleeding. I touched the tree, and the next thing I knew, I was here."

His eyes widened. "You think you dreamed about what happened when you came here?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Who knows? It's so hard to decipher between memory and fantasy anymore. I don't know if it's real."

"Still, it's something," Telos assured me. "Corrin will be very excited about this. We might know how you got here."

"It doesn't matter whether Corrin would be happy about this," I said coolly. "What matters is finding out how to get me home. It has nothing to do with how any of you feel about it."