Black Ice ✓ | Deathsworn #1

Chapter 22 ∞ Spoiled

When I woke up in the morning, my head was pounding with a terrible headache. I was sweating and panting. Strange exhaustion washed over me as I stirred to consciousness. I rolled around in bed and realized I had been tucked in in the same clothes I had been wearing the entire day yesterday. What's more, everything around me was riddled with frost—nearly every corner in the room, actually. Fragile and blurry ice tipped from the bed sheets like small blades of grass. Leafy patterns stretched over the painted walls. As I waded around under the blanket, I felt them collapse under my fingers.

As I had debated what to do next, knocks resounded on the other side of a door. I turned towards the sound, realizing it was the door connecting my room to Mistress Veronika's. "Evy? Are you awake yet?"

"No, mistress..." I said, rising. I threw my feet off the bed and looked to find my shoes, only to find them in the same state as every other thing in the room. I sighed, disappointed, as I rolled my shoulders in despair. "Please don't open the door yet."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"The frost acted up again," I told her. "Please don't come in."

There was a pause. "How bad is it?" she asked.

"Every corner of the room."

"Alright," she stated. I heard a small sigh follow right after. "Evy, don't be afraid. It's very normal, much like wetting the bed."

I swallowed, squirming in discomfort.

"You've wet your bed a few times before."

Don't remind me. Don't turn this into something embarrassing.

At this point, I wanted to throw some tape at my mistress' mouth, hoping she would shut up if I did.

"There are things we can't control," she continued. "And it happens sometimes."

She wasn't calming me at all, she was simply being annoying!

"Did you have any dreams?" she inquired.

"Not that I can remember," I told her, teeth grinding as I clenched my jaw. I went through my memories of the dream, or what was left of it, but found they slipped through my fingers the harder I tried to grab hold of them. There was, however, an uncomfortable knot in my chest and a pounding in my head that said last night wasn't so simple.

I didn't know how to control the frost other than through that song...unless I was singing while I was asleep?

"Evy, darling, why don't you come to me instead?" my mistress inquired. "Surely, that wouldn't be a problem now, would it?"

"I don't know."

The truth was that I felt a little dejected and didn't feel like leaving this place anytime soon. This frost might be harmful to everything else, but it did nothing to me.

Sunlight streamed through the blinds. The warmth flowed into the room, slightly ridding it of the cold energy. While it didn't melt the frost right away, it helped it disperse much faster. This was the sort that didn't melt and, instead, directly dissipated.

I stood and walked towards the windows. I reached up and lightly swept the curtains aside, letting more of the sun in. Maybe it was the Vertvaldenian in me that really savored its presence, but I found it really comforting. I stood there, basking in its light, taking deep breaths. I never realized I was so cold.

"Evy?"

"It's alright, mistress," I said. "Would you give me a few minutes alone?"

There was a pause. "Alright. I'll give you thirty," she said. "I'll ask again in a while. My door is open. Come in when you're ready."

I heard some shuffling on the other side of the door before I was finally given peace. I sank on the floor where the sunlight was streaming, looking out into the vast, blue skies like the weirdo I was. I didn't pay heed to the frost behind me and focused on relieving myself of the coldness in my body. It was not only physically ailing me. There was more to it, I knew.

After a bit, I finally was contented and more comfortable. I looked behind me and realized the frost was nearly gone. I have to find a way to control this soon. I realized I'm being put in situations I'm very uncomfortable with.

I decided to head to my mistress's room.

"Mistress?" I knocked.

"Come in, Evy."

I stepped in. Mistress Veronika saw herself to some breakfast, casually munching away on some scones and drinking her cup of tea. The aroma was fragrant, and she looked more casual than she sounded moments ago.

She sucked on her fingers when she saw me and swallowed. "Did you see to your business?" she asked.

"Yes, I did."

"Good," she said. "Come and eat breakfast. I was planning on waiting for you, but I was starving. I have here some steamed rice, eggs, and some sweet sausage. I also have some smoked fish in here if you want."

"Thank you, mistress. I'm really hungry." I didn't stand on ceremony and immediately dove in to stuff myself with the food. The smell was beyond tempting.

"How was it?" she asked.

"Which was how?" I countered. "The food?"

"Oh, come on. You know what I'm talking about."

"It's alright. You were right. It's just like wetting the bed," I said, a smile stretching my lips. "All I had to do was change the sheets."

Not that I literally did.

"Good girl."

We shared a laugh.

If it had been my adoptive mother, she would've been pacing back and forth until I came out. Mistress Veronika's attitude was refreshing, and I sensed her trust in my capabilities.

I caught my mistress letting out a heavy sigh, her pinky trembling a little as she lifted her cup of tea to her lips.

Maybe I was overthinking it, perhaps I wasn't...Either way, she might be more worried than she looked.

As I was finishing up my plate, my mistress sat back, pulling the napkin from her lap and wiping her lips with the corner. "We'll be going to the Temple of the Gods today."

"The Temple of the Gods?"

"A place of worship, obviously."

"I didn't take you to be religious," I said with a joking smile.

"Oh, you do not know one thing about me, dear," she replied. "Get dressed then. We leave in ten."

"Ten what? Ten minutes? That fast?" My brows shot up.

"We have a flight to catch in the afternoon. The sooner we get back, the better, isn't it?"

I nodded hesitantly and went back to my room. The frost had gone, but it felt like the walls had decayed a bit. It almost seemed as though nobody had seen to this room for over a decade. I scratched my head and went to find the bow. I had stuffed it inside the wardrobe last night, out of plain sight.

To my surprise, it was in perfect condition. I lifted the handle of the wooden case and pulled it out. The spot it occupied seemed untouched by the frost compared to the rest of the room. In fact, the first two inches further around where it stood was also fine as well.

"Mistress?" I said, turning to the open door that led to her room. "I think I'm in trouble." I looked around the decayed room and wondered how it should be dealt with.

She leaned back from where she stood so that she could look in, eyes rolling around to scan my room. She didn't seem very surprised and even dismissively shrugged. "Don't worry about it. This is not a big deal."

It didn't look that way to me.