Verana was almost kidnapped as a child, but the only reason she wasn't taken was that of a little human boy. . . a little boy she's all but forgotten.
Now, being the Volucris princess that she is, Verana has duties to care for and expectations to me...
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Music is Memories of Childhood from The King's Speech. Play it!
Verana no longer knew what the humans were trying to do. They hadn't fed or given her drink in the entire time that she had been captured. Time, how many days had it even been?
She didn't have a perception of time anymore. Her mind fell in and out of sleep. She never knew if what she was seeing was real or a figment of her imagination.
Her body was numb everywhere causing her to lose the sense of feeling. In her unconsciousness, she dreamt of pain and happiness simultaneously. She saw Zan and he always left her alone to die. Her neck was always wet with tears, but she could only tell when she felt heat, if any of it was ever real.
Verana longed for stability and silence. Or maybe that was in her dreams.
The district creaking sound of her cell door opening was the only indication that she was awake. . . and alive. Verana didn't stir, hoping that staying curled in her position would make her appear unconscious. It was probably a couple soldiers coming to see if she was weak enough to be left alone for a couple more hours.
She was most definitely weak enough, and all she wanted was to sleep the rest of her days away. If she even had days left. Her stomach had ceased its crying long ago, just like the rest of her body.
"Hey." Someone touched her arms. She could feel their fingers, so soft and. . . kind. "Are you alright?"
Verana would have been startled and probably move away, but she could hardly formulate the idea of moving a muscle, so she just opened her eyes. Gazing up, she met deep, sparkling brown eyes and the mear color was enough to make her gasp.
The woman's skin was the color of chestnuts and her pale lips, pulling into a gentle smile made Verana's heart seem to beat again. But it was her words—"I'm going to get you out of here."—that made the world shatter into a millions tiny pieces of glass.
Despite the thousands of emotion rushing through her head, she found herself able to ask one question, "Who are you?"
"My name is Colette. Here let me help you up," she said, slipping one of her arms under Verana's armpit. "What is your name?"
Her gaping mouth closed as she forced her throat to accept the bile she was trying to swallow. "Verana."
"Pretty," she said, propping herself under Verana.
She gazed at the girl's clothing. It was red and made of the same odd material that they all wore. She timidly ran a couple fingers over the material, realizing that it was as course as it had looked.
Gingerly, the girl raised Verana to her feet and she groaned, wincing against the pain that erupted across her entire body. "Do you think you can walk?" the girl asked, and she gritted her teeth.
