I set the bird down in the sunny windowsill to allow it to dry. I stared at the carving wistfully as I recognized the similarities the two of us possessed. We were both restricted from flying free, we both were intended to only view the world from above, and we were both molded into being something that wasn’t quite as beautiful as our true purpose.
I gazed solemnly out the window and swallowed back another sniffle.No... that part was different. My true purpose exists here, where I’m safe.I closed my eyes and tried to push the stinging memories away. It had all been so awful... Why did I ever want to leave in the first place? Everything I need is here, and there’s nothing new or overwhelming within these four walls. I’m safe here—
At that exact moment, a loud clatter echoed outside the king’s door. After such a terrifying morning, the sound startled a small shriek from me. I jumped back a few feet and watched the door intently.Had the king come back already?He was the only person who used that door. My blood pulsated fearfully as I waited for His Majesty to come storming in. However, the door never opened, and the sound vanished as quickly as it came.
I pressed a weary hand over my heart and steadied myself once more. It was likely a mouse or something. I’m just jumpy after everything that happened today. My eyes turned back to the window, but I only watched the sky for a few moments before a soft knock sounded on Mabel’s door. For a moment I stiffened at the noise before realizing which door it had emitted from. In my distracted daze I had completely forgotten than it was nearing lunch hour.
I didn’t bother to rub any of the stray tears from my lashes and instead, shrouded them beneath the satin blindfold. “Come in, I’m ready,” I called, my voice still raspy from the earlier sobbing.
At my call, Mabel creaked open the door and clinked the mid-day meal tray onto the table. I waited to hear her take her usual step back, then made my way to my chair. “Thank you, Mabel,” I said softly, attempting to hide the croak in my voice.
The soothing sound of cascading tea halted at my words, and I heard Mabel intake a sharp breath. “Oh, Elle... Did he deny your request?”
Her sweet voice was so fretful and caring, and I couldn’t help but lose my grip on my shaky emotions and burst out into another round of tears. I pressed my hands against my bound eyes and listened as the teapot smacked onto the table and Mabel scurried to my chair. Within a moment, the kind woman’s arms were wrapped tightly around me and I shrunk into her caring embrace.
“He didn’t say no.” I sniffed against her shoulder. She smelled sweet, like lemongrass and honey tea. “He took me outside with him, but—” My lip quivered again and my words broke up.
Mabel tightened her grip on me and pet a gentle hand onto my head. “I’m so sorry, little Elle,” she soothed. “The world can be a scary place when you’re not prepared for it. I’m so sorry it wasn’t what you’d hoped for.”
For what felt like too short of a time, Mabel allowed me to stay in her arms until she regretfully had to leave. I knew she had other duties besides being my caretaker, but today I wished I could keep her all to myself. The events of the day weighed heavily on my weak mind, and I desperately craved the presence of another soul. I had spent too much of the day fighting my own mind already, but sadly, Mabel left me after ensuring I had eaten at least a few bites of my lunch.
Once she was gone, I slid off my blindfold and sat at the dining table for a few minutes longer, sipping the cold remnants of the tea leftover from the meal. After I had polished off my third cup, my stomach sloshed uncomfortably with the vast amounts of liquid and meager bit of food. I decided that some more sculpting might help distract my thoughts further, so I rose from the table to start for my art cabinet. However, something caught my eye before I had made it to the sunny corner. Just past the king’s door lay a cleanly folded piece of parchment.
I stared at the paper with a mystified gaze, unsure where it came from or how long it had been there. It clearly came from the king’s door, but he had never left me messages before. He always came in to speak with me directly, or on rare occasions, passed information along through Mabel. Why would he have left me a note?
My fingers flew to my lips as a slight gasp breathed out of me.That sound I heard earlier... The odd clatter, was that the messenger?A mixture of fear and curiosity churned inside me as I approached the paper cautiously. No one but the king had ever come near that door before. Would I get in trouble for reading it if it wasn’t from the king? What if I was punished for simply possessing it?
My lips parted, and I touched my nails to my teeth before nervously nibbling on their edges. If this letter wasn’t from the king, he would likely be angry if he found it in front of his door; but if it was from the king, he’d be angry I didn’t read it... I took a shaky breath and released my nails from my bite in order to scoop the note off the stone floor. My eyes scanned over the parchment, but there was nothing unusual about it. Slowly, I unfolded the crinkled paper and unveiled the hidden message within.
Hello,
Is there anyone in there?
My brow knit together as I reread the message a half dozen times.What is this?My heart hammered in my chest as I came to the solid realization that this note was not from the king. Whoever wrote this didn’t even know I lived here. How did they even know to find the tower? I felt my breaths heighten as a thousand scenarios rushed through my mind where the king found this note and blamed me for engaging with the sender. There was no way I was going to answer this mysterious letter, so in a frenzied panic, I darted over to my bed and stuffed the note deep beneath the mattress.
A cascade of relief overwhelmed me as I watched the paper vanish beneath the dusty folds of the thick mattress.There... Now there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.I pressed a calming hand over my anxious heart and finally felt a moment of peace. Tomorrow, this day would be just a bad memory. There was no reason the king should become anymore upset, and as long as I gave him a proper vision next week, everything should go back to normal.
I turned away from the bed with a relaxed smile gradually spreading across my face. Everything finally felt like it was back under my control...
Until the servant’s door began to rattle and the knob turned.
My body froze in its alarmed state as I watched the door swing open in slow motion.Why was Mable back so soon!? Why didn’t she knock first?My blindfold was all the way across the room, and I didn’t have even a millisecond to consider shutting my eyes before a pair of steel-blue eyes dove straight into mine.
I got a full look at the intruder for a split second before my magic took over. He was tall, with dark hair and an extremely familiar set of features. His face looked almost as stunned as mine as he locked eyes with me from across the space. My blood ran hot as both terror and magic shot through my veins. I wanted to look away, but I was completely paralyzed. I was looking into the eyes of another stranger... My body went numb as I felt my racing blood drain away from my face at the thought of how furious the king would become. Heat sweltered through me and I noticed the glow radiate off my hair from the corner of my eye. The man’s eyes widened vastly and his mouth fell open dumbly as my vision went black.
The man is somewhere in the castle. It’s the same stone walls as the ones that frame my tower. He looks over at a sitting figure and it’s... me. He’s looking at me, and I’m clearly distressed. He takes a seat beside me and lets out a heavy breath.
“I can’t—”
His words broke off and black enveloped my vision once more before sparks of silver and white flashed in my mind as the scene transitioned to a new piece of future.
The man is extremely tense as he looks into the darkness. Perhaps he’s angry?
“Only one of us is leaving this room alive. And we both already know the answer.” He lunged forward, and a scream pealed through the air.
It was my scream.
I gasped as my mind returned to reality. My hands clasped over my mouth in horror as I stumbled backward and fell hard onto the floor. Every inch of me trembled in terror as I processed the nightmare I had foreseen. I lowered my head toward the floor so I didn’t risk looking back into the intruder’s eyes again.