Winter's Tale *DISCONTINUED*

Chapter Two

Winter jolted awake. Strands of her hair stuck to her forehead with sweat. When Winter tried to get out of bed, the sheets tangle around her legs. She fell, without grace, onto the floor. Stupid sheets, thought Winter. Winter reached for the glass of water that sat by her bed. She brought the glass to her lips. But something was off. The water was cold and hard. Winter looked at the glass of water, but it wasn't water anymore. It was ice. Startled, she dropped the glass. Winter watched it shatter on the wooden floor of her bedroom. The fragments caught the moonlight that streamed through the window.

"It was a dream." Winter muttered to herself. "It was only a dream."

But it had seemed so real. The pain, the voices, the betrayal. Kia would never do that, Winter assured herself. She wouldn't.

Winter heard the thumps of footsteps coming down the hall. She kicked some glass shards under the bed as quick as she could. But there still glass and water on the floor, and her sheets hung off the bed, tangled and crumpled. Mother would throw a fit when she saw the mess.

The bedroom door swung open. "Winter? Are you alright?" Her mom's voice was soft and worried.

Winter stood up and brushed off her night gown. "I'm fine. Just a bad dream, nothing to worry about," she reassured, but her mother walked into the room anyways. Father followed behind.

Mother looked at her room with distaste. "What a mess!" she said. "Water all over the floor, glass everywhere! You better clean up this mess-"

Father placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, Beth. I'll clean up in the morning," Father turned to face her. "Don't worry kiddo. Lots of kids have bad dreams before their Exam. I know I did."

Mother sat down on the bed and put a hand on Winter's shoulder. "Same with me."

"Mm-hm," Father nodded. "You're only taking a test. Just like the ones you take at school. It's nothing to worry about, you'll be fine."

Winter leaned her head on Father's broad shoulder. "But it's not like the ones I take at school. Those don't really matter. This one is going to determine my career. My future."

Mother smiled. "Yes, but, you're already prepared for that. You've chosen a few jobs in each category that you would like, haven't you?"

Winter nodded. But her suggests wouldn't mean much if she failed.

"Maybe you'll become a trader, like your father," Mother suggested.

Father just laughed. "A trader? Oh no. Winter, you can achieve much greater than a trader."

Father was a trader. He was always on trips to faraway cities in different nations. Although Winter didn't see him often, she still loved him. Sometimes, he would bring both her and Mother gifts from other nations.

Winter knew Mother and Father were trying to make her laugh. But she was still worried. The shadows of doubt she had suppressed for years were now creeping into her thoughts once again. "But, what if they hate my powers? They might fail me. They could put me in jail. They could kill me!"  Tears were running down her cheeks now. Winter fiddled the lace hem on her nightgown. She scrunched up the fabric until her fingers could almost touch. Then pulled the fabric taught, over and over.

"Honey, no!" Father wrapped his arms around her. Mother did the same. "They won't kill you sweetie."

Mother sighed and stroked Winter's hair. "Everything will been fine. Tomorrow will be fine." 

Winter wanted to believe their words. She wanted to believe them with every fiber of her being. But even so, she had a bad feeling that tomorrow would not go her way. 

Second chapter, done and edited! I think this is much better than what it was before. Don't forget to vote and comment, it means a lot to me! ^u^