𝙎𝘼𝙏𝙐𝙍𝙉 ✮ 𝘯. 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘧𝘧

{𝟎𝟒} - 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠

And moments later, Semna was being led on the same path that she had led Natalia on the previous night. She was guided through the maze of beds and out the door, and down the hall towards the staircases. However, instead of leading her to the smaller landing, Natalia made an abrupt turn and stopped. Semna's face hit her shoulder, her gaze previously fixated on the archways above them. There were several; each one painted an odd, vibrant blue color, with splashes of white on top, like someone had started the project of redecorating, yet never finished. The chiseled designs along the arches were beautiful, though cracking in several places. She ran her hand over it gingerly, still gazing at the blue. She decided that was her new favorite color.

Natalia squeezed her hand. Whatever the reason was for their stop seemed to have ceased, and before she could look around to see what that may have been, Semna was being pulled to what looked like a grand staircase. She realized abruptly that she had never been in this part of the building. She hadn't even known there was a second floor, let alone a whole separate staircase and balcony, light seeping in from the biggest windows she'd ever seen overhead. It was unknown how Natalia knew about it, but she had no hesitations in her movements, each step alive and jaunty, yet still silent. Semna wondered if she had been awake all night, like she had, or if she hadn't been as quiet as she thought with her restlessness.

They reached the balcony. Natalia paused, her hand stilled grasped around Semna's, both of them staring through the windows now directly in front of them. It provided a clear view of the snowy valley, the vibrant white woods around them, and of the mountains in the distance. Semna even swore she could make out some light of a town between two mountain ridges. She could imagine the people living there, bundled up together by the fire, sharing stories and warm food to keep their minds off the unfortunate bite of the cold. She wondered if they knew of the harrowing existence of the Red Room living among them, and what they would do if they did. If they could do anything about it at all.

As if this wasn't enough of a surprise, Natalia let go of her hand, motioning Semna to follow her. She obeyed, resisting the urge to linger by the windows for another minute. She trailed Natalia down a hallway adjacent to the staircase they entered on. They continued for several minutes, the stretch seeming to never end, until Natalia abruptly turned into a slim entryway. Semna followed again, sighing; she was getting tired of walking aimlessly, becoming increasingly worried that they would be caught at any moment.

"Natalia," she whispered.

But she did not respond, nor look back in acknowledgement. She simply continued on, now crawling up a spiral staircase, which Semna thought to have been engineered for elves. She hesitantly followed still, ducking her head every few steps to avoid hitting the low stone ceiling.

They finally reached the top, and Semna let out a relieved sigh. Natalia heaved a brass door open.

If the balcony were a skyscraper, then this was Mount Everest. The girls trudged out onto the open scenery, Semna's breath swept away by the cool night air. Out here she felt on top of the world; she could see the town more clearly now, a light standing out amidst the pitch black; a lake nearby, glittering under the fluorescent moonlight; the unmistakable sound of a train whistle in the distance.

The amazement never dimmed, but when realization finally struck of where they were, Semna shivered and rubbed violently at her arms, desperate to fight back against the negative temperatures and the snow biting into her bare feet. She pulled her nightgown tighter against her person, and when she felt soft hands slide around her waist, she closed her eyes, taking in the newfound warmth and leaned back against Natalia.

"It's beautiful," she whispered. From her mouth erupted a visible cloud of steam, each breath swept away by the wind, as Semna wished she could be. Natalia hummed in agreement, pressing her face into the crook of Semna's neck. For several minutes they stayed there, eyes closed and swaying, listening to the soft whistle of the wind in their ears. For a moment, Semna was able to hear crickets screeching from the woods, until it was interrupted by the typical shouting from the guards down below.

"Semna."

Semna hummed, opening her eyes in acknowledgement. Something in Natalia's voice put her immediately on edge; it was uncharacteristically stilted and wary. She silently tucked her face into the hem of her shirt collar, studying the snow below her.

"What happened this morning?" Natalia asked hesitantly. Their swaying had stopped; they were but two objects caught up in the wind.

Semna lifted her head to the stars and huffed. "I do not want to talk about this." She shook out of Natalia's grasp, breaking away to the outer edge of the rooftop.

"Why?" Natalia snapped. "Don't shut me out, Sem. I can see when you are bothered by something, and this is bothering you. And I could help you work through it if you would just talk to me. For once."

Semna spun around. "'For once?' What is that supposed to mean?" She resisted the urge to wrap the nightgown around her again, suddenly upset that Natalia had grabbed a long sleeve for herself but not Semna.

It was unclear in Madame B's proposition of whether or not Semna was allowed to share her new path with her classmates. Granted, they all had another fight in the morning, and only half of them would return to their beds the next night, but she had spent enough years among these people to know not to do something you have not been told to do. For a moment she considered closing the distance with Natalia, telling her everything about what had happened, what she did and did not want to do—but she bit her tongue once again.

"I mean," Natalia started, interrupting Semna's reverie, "that you never tell me anything. You shut down the moment you start feeling a real emotion."

"That's not fair," Semna countered. "You shut down too. And you know why we do it."

Natalia sighed, running a bruised hand through her hair. Semna stared at it, never once taking her eyes off of the red head.

A mere day ago, she would have been running over and embracing Natalia, apologizing for her behavior until she was blue in the face. They had always been well aware that their time on this earth was limited, so they had never failed to make up for any lost moments. But now—somehow—she was resisting. The wind threatened to push her over, the cold biting ferociously into her limbs, and all she could think about was getting back into the safety of her bed until the sun rose. Still, she continued to stare at Natalia, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. But while Semna's lip began to quiver, Natalia's remained steady.

"Why must you argue with me about this?" Natalia tried again. Semna resisted the urge to break her gaze away. "I just want to know what's going on with you. I care about you."

Semna's heart fluttered for a moment. Natalia knew a great number of ways to get what she wanted, to break Semna even in the most difficult situations. But Semna held firm. "Nothing is going on; Madame B did not say anything important. I am just nervous for you, that's all." She softened her tone a bit, sensing the annoyance still present in Natalia. "I care about you too, moya lyubov'. Deeply."

Suddenly, the bells around them rang out, chiming six constants into the field of white surrounding the Academy. Semna jumped and grabbed at her chest, looking back to Natalia with her eyes wide. In an instant, all remnants of their argument faded into oblivion. With one swift movement, Natalia raced over and grabbed Semna's arm, and before they knew it, they were gliding silently, down the steps and passing the grand staircase once again.

Semna payed little attention to where she was walking from then on. She followed Natalia step by step without a peep, wondering gloomily if that would be the last time the two would ever speak to each other again.

She was also caught up in the image she had seen as they had passed the aperture of the staircase—a parade of black vans, pulling into the Academy's driveway with their weapons hanging acutely out the windows, and wondering stiffly if perhaps they were here for her.

A/n: Oh my I am so sorry, that was the worst writers block of my life LOL. This time I will make no promises for the next chapter. I still hope you enjoyed (comment, vote, etc).

-sk.