House of Winter

Chapter 7, Part 1

Maybe, even now, Ariane was on an assembly line, being exposed to some terrible metal that would make her believe crazy things.

But none of that was Sanna's fault.

Sanna couldn't do anything about the way Vastiens were treated in Lombardia. She was not able to help. Only those with power could do anything to help those without. And Sanna, right now, felt powerless.

But one day she would not feel this way.

One day, with power, she would be able to create real noticeable change. She would be able to set the world straight again. She would even work towards making life easier for Vastiens, if she was able. She was sure that as a monarch of the Fire Lands, she could have great reach.

The only problem was Tai.

Tai sat down on the wall dividing Sanna's small courtyard from the garden. Her courtyard was supposed to afford her privacy, but of course Tai didn't seem to acknowledge that. She was wearing a very revealing bathing suit, but she forced herself to remain dignified and pretend that she didn't care that he was seeing her in a state of undress, as she pushed up out of the pool and sat on the edge.

"What do you want?" she asked him.

"Sigrún looks bored," Tai said, not sparing a glance to Sanna's wolf. "Perhaps she'd appreciate exploring outside of the palace?"

His dark eyes were fixed on Sanna with an intense gaze that would have made a lesser girl blush. But she was not a lesser girl.

She leaned back and returned his gaze with disdain. "You're suggesting a trip?"

"A tour of the sights," Tai said. "The Togalay ruins, the hot springs, the black sand beaches. Singtsu offers a lot of wonders, and you might be interested in seeing them."

"And you'll take me?"

"I could show you around your new home."

Sanna held out her hand, and Tai recognised what she was asking for, and handed her the towel that was draped over the stone in the sunlight. She took it and pressed the towel to her face first, and then held it to her chest.

"The Togalay ruins?" she asked.

"The Togalay people lived here thousands of years ago, but they all died after a volcanic eruption. But some of their buildings have been preserved to this day."

Sanna's interest was piqued, and she found herself standing up and drying herself off.

"I'll meet you in the Nord courtyard in an hour?" he suggested.

"Perhaps," Sanna said, because she refused to pander to him, but at the same time, she knew that she would be there in an hour.

She could not stand another moment of moping around this palace with nothing to do. And even if she knew Taikku Tsukasai was a vile person, she knew that she would also have to get to know him.

Sanna resented that Tai was the first person to reach out to her to ask her to do something like this. She'd been moderately friendly with Lumi in Lombardia, and she'd thought perhaps the two of them could have remained friends, but after begging her on the ship, Lumi had avoided Sanna completely.

And she'd hoped, secretly and desperately, that her own mother would reach out to her like this, to extend a hand of friendship and take her for a tour of the place she lived. She wanted desperately for her mother to show interest. But her mother remained distant and unreachable, even as she was present.

Sanna dressed and did her hair in an elaborate braid that swept her brown hair around her head. She'd always been skilled with her own hair. She didn't remember a time when her father had bothered to touch her hair - he had always been too busy - and so Sanna had taught herself how to braid and how to tie her hair in bows to make it look interesting and new every day.

When she'd first met Princess Katja, the princess had been desperate to copy all of Sanna's hairstyles, but even the princess's maids hadn't been able to emulate Sanna's styles. After a few major tantrums, Sanna had eventually relented and started doing the princess's hair. She'd become like a maid to the princess.

And yet she'd been a friend, too.

Princess Katja had no friends. There were no other children in the palace her own age, until Sanna arrived. Katja had latched onto her and placed every burden onto her, of friend and confidant and maid and mischief-maker-in-arms. Sanna had borne the responsibility with grace, as she did in all things. She knew one day she would not be a shadow to the princess. Someday she would be more.

Sanna made her way to the courtyard on the Nord side of the palace, at least ten minutes later than they'd agreed to meet. She almost expected that Tai would be gone, frustrated and annoyed that she'd stood him up, but he was standing in the sunshine, looking out over the training grounds as if he was surveying his kingdom.

She expected him to be annoyed, to remark something like, "Took your time," or to scowl at her.

But instead he just nodded politely and then climbed onto his tiger's back.

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elle xx