The Trials of Sybil

Chapter Fourteen

Sybil

The sound of scratching awakens me from my sleep. Pushing myself into a sitting position, I glance around the room, but nothing is amiss. It is too early for Alice to be bringing me breakfast. No light filters into the small room from behind the thick curtains and last night's fire had burned down to embers. Running my fingers through my hair, I try to detangle the nights from my tossing and turning.

My heart clenches. Tears line my eyes as a memory of my mother brushing my hair as she tells me about her upcoming trip to the palace to aid the queen's delivery surfaces. I brush the tears angrily from my face and slide out of bed, the cold of the stone floor biting into my bare feet. Making my way over to the window, I tear open the curtains, push open the glass, and lean my arms against the sill.

White flakes pepper my face as a gust of wind whistles through the small opening. The first official sign of winter. I have given up counting the days they have kept me locked in this room, devising a way out, while dreading being summoned again by the queen. I have not seen a single soul save for Alice twice a day to bring my meals and a fresh linen. My power slowly grows inside me, but my body feels weak. I am unused to being cooped up in a small room with only the passage of the sun through a small window for my only company.

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

I turn and face the door, but the hallway beyond through the small window is cast in darkness. "Hello? Is someone there?" I hate the pang of hope that rises in my chest.

Who would come and rescue me?

"Great. It's probably rats," I mumble to myself, shivering involuntarily. Rats brought nothing but disease and trouble. Alice takes the dishes out of my room each night, but what if she left crumbs on the way up or down that lead them here? Letting out a deep sigh, I turn back to the frosty window and extend my hand outward. I watch as the snowflakes dissolve into droplets, trickling down the glass pane. The scent of pine and winter air wafts in, filling my nostrils. The delicate snowflakes softly brush against my skin, creating a cold, tingly sensation. As I observe the falling snow, I hear the muffled sounds of laughter and chatter coming from outside down in the courtyard. .

I am lonely. Alice. She never utters a word except to tell me to eat, rest, and that the Queen will call me when she is ready. I miss my village. I even miss bantering with his royal pain-in-the-ass Aramis. Anything is better than spending weeks alone with just my thoughts and worries. I peer out at the land, slowly becoming blanketed in a soft white. Servants quickly race across the grounds like tiny ants from where I watch in the tower. A few guards exchange blows in the practice yard. Even if I could escape through the window, I'd never be able to climb down the side of the tower.

Again, I hear a scratching noise, followed by a metallic thump. I walk cautiously to the door, drawing on my power. My forehead tingles as I feel my horn manifest. I have yet to regain enough power for a full transformation, but if they come for me, I am not going down without a fight. Pressing my body against the smooth wood of the door, I push up on my toes and peer through the barred window, but am met with only the darkness of the stairwell.

"Great. It's rats, or I am losing my sanity." I lean my cheek against the wood of the door, inhaling the stale scent when something cold and metallic shoves against my foot.

"Ow!" I step back and glance down at the antique brass key that has slid under my door. "What is this?"

I kneel on the cold stone as I slide the key towards me. The metal is cold as frost bites into my delicate skin, but I clutch it to my chest before peering under the door. Two familiar beady eyes stare back at me through the crack.