The Cold Prince

1

~Avila

I'm suddenly aware of everything.

First is the pain, striking right between my temples. It makes me wince, until I realise that my facial muscles are stiff. As I raise my hand to touch them, my wrist hits concrete, my skin raw as I yelp in pain.

Darkness surrounds me, as my eyes slowly peel open, seeing nothing but swirling colour on a black canvas in my vision.

The air is stale, as I breathe in deeply, my joints clicking in response. I must have fallen asleep in an odd position, as all my limbs feel numb.

And then it hits me. Where am I? Who am I? No matter how deep I scrape the back of mind, everything comes up blank.

I remember nothing.

"Help!" I yell, pressing the palms of my hands against the ceiling above me, the bite of cold from it striking through my tender skin.

My voice is hoarse, unused, scratching painfully at my throat. "Please someone help me!"

A yelp sounds from whatever concrete casing I'm trapped in, and then some frantic mumbling.

I'm not sure what is going on, where I am and how I've come to be without any memory, I just know I need to get out of here and breathe real air.

For a moment there is silence, and then the sound of more talking before everything around me seems to vibrate.

My hands fly to my ears, covering them from the sound of scraping that echoes through the small concrete box.

A small crack suddenly appears in my world of darkness, blinding light streaming in. With my hand draped over my eyes, I lay still until the sound of scraping stops. I can't see anything, and I'm not about to open my eyes to the light.

"Princess, you're alive," someone calls.

My eyes open slowly as I'm helped into a sitting position.

My bones ache, as if I've been lying in the same position for hours. The stranger aiding me, grips my elbow tightly, trying to help me up so I'm standing. It takes a moment, my legs trembling on the verge of collapse beneath this dreary white gown I'm draped in.

"Where am I?" I rasp, looking around the unfamiliar space.

We are in a small, concrete room, similar to whatever I just crawled out of. Large bouquets of fresh flowers are littered about, staining the air with a cloying scent.

"You're home, you're alive," the person exclaims. Why do they sound so shocked? I watch them curiously as they push open the door and look outside. "Guards, get the Queen."

Queen?

We are in some kind of courtyard, the light so blaring it's stinging at my skin, at my eyes. I want to crawl back into whatever dingy space I came from and shut out all of these people swarming up towards me.

And the colours...The trees are sagging with pink flowers, fat and blooming, giving off a more overwhelming scent. My white dress drags at my feet, the hem stained with the hues of fallen flowers.

The doors to the magnificent building in front of me are thrown open, and a particularly frantic woman emerges, looking on the verge of fainting.

"Avila, my baby!" she calls out, advancing toward me.

Confused, I take a wary step back, but the man beside me holds my forearm tightly. I'm not going to fall, you strange fools.

This woman is beautiful, whoever she is. She has a slender figure, her long obsidian hair cascading down her front, seemingly unbothered by her frantic rush forward toward me. She wears a long dress, like mine, but black. The bodice is lined with lace, flattering her.