The Shadow of Winter

Chapter 22

        Morning peeked through the flimsy metal blinds covering the bedroom window, tempting (Name) to awake to new surroundings. She cracked her eyes open, uttering a sleepy moan as her body began to move. From downstairs came the sound of movement, indicating that her guardian, Shadow, was already up and about. Waking more, the girl struggled to sit up in bed with squinted eyes, noticing the ache in her broken leg quickly turn into a raging fire. A short gasp of pain left her and (Name) hurriedly reached out for the little orange bottle of pills sitting on her nightstand. She washed down a couple of pills with water. Shaking from the infuriating throb in her leg, she leaned against the wall idle and listless. As she waited for the pills to act on her pain, (Name)'s hazy vision moved about the room.

        The walls, painted a dull blue, brought a solemn feel to the atmosphere, despite the light of the mid-morning sun soaking into the room. In the far corner were two white folding doors that led to a large closet. At that moment the closet remained empty, excluding a couple pairs of hanging jeans Shadow had bought on his unaccompanied shopping trip. Most of (Name)'s new clothes were packed into the wooden dresser on the opposite end of the room. Between the closet and dresser, pressed against the wall adjacent to the door, was the bed. Shadow had gotten the (favorite color) comforter (Name) had asked for, and its bold color stood out among the rest of the room. On the right side of the bed was a tall lamp, on the left a nightstand containing a digital alarm clock, bottle of pain pills, and a glass of water.

        (Name) stayed in one of two bedrooms upstairs, the other belonging to Shadow. While hers was placed at the front of the house with the window overlooking the military neighborhood's monotonous sense of style, the black hedgehog's room was just across the hallway taking up the back corner of the structure. Beside Shadow's door was a room smaller than either of the bedrooms, which the agent decided he'd make into a place for work and quiet study. At the end of the upstairs hallway was a simple bathroom with a toilet, sink, and shower.

        A plastic chair waited inside the shower for (Name)'s use, as she couldn't stand on her own without damaging the scarcely-healed bone of her femur. Except for her (hair length) (hair color) hair, the girl hadn't washed herself since obtaining her injury. She reddened in embarrassment at the thought of having to use that shower chair. But she was glad of the fact that Shadow's master bedroom came with its own bathroom, so the hedgehog had no reason to invade her privacy.

        With time the fire in her leg had simmered to a mild ache, and the muted noises downstairs increased in volume. (Name) sighed, knowing she had better get up and announce her arrival to her guardian before he believed her to be sleeping in late. She didn't know how Shadow would act now that their situation had changed, but she'd rather not push his patience. Clenching her teeth in expectation of the strong, cramping pulse in her leg, (Name) lifted her body out of bed and into her wheelchair. After grappling with the complications of dressing herself, she finally exited her bedroom and rolled to the top of the stairwell, where another complication arose.

        How was she to get down the stairs? Last night Shadow had carried her and her chair up, but surely he wouldn't do that every time. When (Name) thought on it, she found there to be no other method of travel until her leg healed enough for the use of crutches.

        "Shadow?" called (Name) in a quiet voice. Clinks and clangs echoed from the kitchen, and the smell of food tickled the girl's nose. Shadow was busy, clearly unable to hear her pitiful cry. (Name) tried again, louder this time, and the noises ceased. She waited in tense silence as the agent came up the stairs.

        A black and red-quilled head poked around the corner, and Shadow raised an eyebrow at the girl. "What, you can't get down the stairs in a wheelchair?"