Thief of Twilight

Part One: Chapter 12

The following morning, I was awakened by Min-ji setting the table. I sat up to stretch my arms above my head.

"Good morning, Lady Abedayo!" she smiled.

"Good morning." I yawned. "What are you doing here so early?"

"What do you mean?" she sat beside me.

"Normally...Sang-mi would wait for me to wake up before bringing my breakfast." I rubbed my eyes.

"My apologies." Min-ji quickly bowed her head. "Unfortunately, I have a lot to do today. The emperor wanted me to spend the day with Sang-mi so that I can learn more about your likes and dislikes."

"...Shouldn't you just spend the day with me then?" I asked.

"Of course, it won't be all day." she smiled. "I will come back around noon when I bring your lunch."

"...I guess..." I looked down at my meal. Rice, fried egg, pickled radish, and tea. I don't have much of an appetite but I managed to eat the rice and pickled radishes. The tea this morning was particularly sweet. There was a slight citrus flavor.

"Is something wrong? Have I made a mistake?"

"No..." I held the cup in my hands. "I normally have green tea in the morning. What kind of tea is this?"

"Oh, I apologize! We do not have green tea so Sang-mi suggested that I bring you red tea. It is blood orange!"

"Blood orange..." I took another sip.

"If you do not like it, I can go find-."

"Min-ji calm down." I smiled. "I like it." I've never had blood orange tea before. It tasted better than I thought it would. "I prefer red tea over green tea. But I also like black tea. Min-ji, where is the emperor?"

"Oh, he is in a meeting at the moment."

"...Okay..." I slowly stood up and brushed off the front of my robe. "I'm finished eating now. I'll get ready for the day. Maybe I'll look for him later."

"A-Are you sure? I can tell him that you want to see him! I'm sure he will-!"

"No, it's alright." I smiled. "I'd rather not get him too excited." I walked into the bathroom to take a nice soothing morning bath. After my bath, I dressed in a black skirt and white quarter-sleeve blouse with gray at the ends of the sleeves. With Min-ji gone, I guess I can take the time to draw for a bit. I haven't been able to do that in a while.

I retrieved the remaining bits of parchment from my trunk and the last two charcoal sticks that I had taken from the emperor's study. I doubt that I'll be able to leave the palace any time soon. I'm not saying that I'm going to be a prisoner here, but I wouldn't be surprised if the emperor didn't allow me to leave.

Gazing down at the blank pieces of parchment, my hand took a piece of charcoal before sketching a set of eyes. A nose. Lips. Fur. It was almost like the eyes of that wolf were burned into my brain. Those intense gold eyes. I used my thumb to blend out the darker spots, extending it out to the edges of the page.

"I hope I can go back to the forest soon..." I mumbled. It' sno fun being locked away in the palace. I leaned forward with my hands in my lap. It began to feel like I was locked back in that room. The same room when I first arrived here.

"I don't like this..." I breathed. Sitting up, I took a deep breath. Eventually, I'll be able to leave the palace. I don't know when but I can't see him keeping me here forever. Turning my head, I peered out t the window. The sky was clear. The sun was bright. It's pretty quiet at the palace now that I think about it. Not too many birds fly overhead. I reached for another piece of parchment and sketched a woman's face with straight hair. I had been drawing for quite a while when I realized that I was a little sleepy. I looked back outside at the sun. I've always found it funny that the sun doesn't seem to affect me at all. I don't feel like my power is being drained or anything like that. But when I have fought solar mages in the past, I have to be careful or their attacks could wound me.