prisoner (shadow & bone)

Chapter Two

LIFE AT THE LITTLE PALACE

Tatia had never felt more at ease than she did in her room at the Little Palace. Once the general had left, she laid down on the king-sized bed and stared up at the ceiling dreamily for what felt like eternity, trying to let it all sink in.

She had her own room, with her very own bed now. She was free from the Fjerdans who had kept her locked away her entire life. And most importantly of all, she had met General Kirigan. The man who saved her life.

A knock sounded at the door, making Tatia shoot up from the bed in alarm. Kirigan had said that he wouldn't be retrieving her for another few hours, so who could be at the door?

The girl hesitantly walked up to it, twisting the doorknob with trembling hands and peering through the small opening she had created when opening the door.

There stood a beautiful red-haired woman, who was wearing a kind smile on her face upon seeing the girl.

"Hello, Tatia," the woman greeted with a slight bow. "My name is Genya. The General has asked me to help fix you up a bit before attending dinner."

Tatia instantly relaxed upon hearing the familiar name. She opened the door wider and managed a small smile. "Come in," she said softly, still not used to the fact that she now had her own room, where people wouldn't just enter unannounced or without permission.

Genya followed her into the room and put a small kit that Tatia hadn't noticed she was holding on the nearest table. She then proceeded to the bathroom, where she put on the tap to fill the bathtub. She turned back to the girl again, who was gazing at her with curious eyes.

"Normally, I would have my crew here too," Genya explained, as she opened Tatia's closet (which had already been filled with clothes before she arrived) and started browsing through the clothes that hung on the racks. "But the general specifically requested that I wouldn't bring too many people in. He didn't want you to get too overwhelmed."

"That's very thoughtful of him," Tatia said, smiling softly.

Genya nodded in agreement. "I'm glad he has found you, after all this time," the woman said, her grey eyes full of sadness. "When we heard of your captivity, we were all horrified. He has been trying to find you for months, and I couldn't be more happy that he found you when he did."

The woman peered into the bathtub and saw that the water had filled it nicely, so she turned off the tap. Then, she poured some sort of liquid into the tub, making bubbles form.

"Now, you'll be able to live amongst your own kind, in freedom," Genya concluded. She glanced at Tatia and beckoned her over. "Come, I have prepared you a bath."

Tatia walked towards the tub, but heard the other woman in the room gasp slightly. "Oh dear," Genya sighed, taking Tatia's hands in her own. The girl looked down and saw that her hands were still bleeding from the scratches she had obtained earlier.

"I'll fix these up for you," Genya murmured, closing her eyes in concentration. "You won't feel a thing, I promise," she reassured. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel the anxiety radiating off the girl. She waved her hand over the torn skin, and within a second, it was good as new.

Tatia raised her hands and looked at them in wonder. The wounds were gone, and they were replaced by flawless skin. She turned to the red-haired woman, eyes wide in awe. "How did you do that?"

"I'm a Tailor," Genya explained with a grin. "It means I can modify people's appearances."

"That's- that's so cool," Tatia mumbled, twisting her hands around without taking her eyes off of them.