Husk

Chapter 3-Blizzard

3 weeks later

MERCURY

By the fucking gods above...

The cold night air had begun to tear at my body. I'd already thrown on all the blankets, rugs and sheets in my closet onto my bed, but that did little to keep the cold out.

The northern wind whistled outside my window, barraging the Palace wall's.

The blizzard had been raging for the past few hours now and my patience was wearing thin.

The weather had forced me to wrap myself entirely in everything I owned. Layer upon layer of fabric lay atop my shivering body as I made several attempts at falling asleep, all to no avail.

I let out an agitated groan which echoed throughout the room, the sound bouncing off of the stone walls which surrounded me.

Why must it be so bloody cold tonight?! Can this not happen at any other time?! During the day perhaps? When I'm not trying to sleep?!

I made a good point. I'd even compliment myself if I could. Unfortunately, fate is a fickle mistress, and it just so happened that she wished for a blizzard to occur tonight, and so a blizzard had come.

It must have been six hours. Six hours of blistering cold winds. The snow storm raged on outside, roaring out into the night sky.

Where in the nine hellion's are the mages?!

As if to read my thought's, I felt my body warm up. I welcomed the warmth with a sigh as I sunk into my mattress some more.

Took you long enough.

I took extra precaution when stepping out of my bed, using my toe to test if the tiles had been warmed as well. Surely enough, the tiles were warm and I let out yet another sigh.

Thank the gods... I've been sweating like a whorehouse from all those fucking blankets. I can finally bathe.

My room within the palace wasn't the most prestigious, although to your average peasant it may seem so. A room large enough to fit at least thirty people and still have enough space for a long table.

Within this large space was a single bed with all four corners of the bedframe extending upwards into four decorative pillars which stopped just a few inches shy from the roof. Two bedside cupboards and a desk on the far end by the window outlooking the city gave a great view on most nights.

The rest of the space was used to store laundry. By store, I really mean I'd just nonchalantly throw my dirty laundry anywhere. The servants would pick it up and wash it throughout the day.

In short, my room in the palace, while grandiose, was a mess, and I quite liked it that way. I made my way toward the main closet, which was a room in and of itself.

It had its own door, intrinsically designed with black and gold, gold handles with which to open the closet with.

Inside were hundreds, if not thousands of clothes all tailor made by some of the finest tailors in the Furian Empire.

Shoes by the dozens by the finest shoemakers.

A closet to make most women weep with joy.

I, however, was not most women.

I could care less for clothes and thus grabbed whatever I could get my hands on, made sure I had some underwear and began making my way toward my bathroom.

The bathroom was as grandiose as the rest of the room, a large wooden tub sat in the far corner, a basin and mirror sat adjacent to it as well as a towel rack.

It wasn't long before I was undressed. I spied the water with excitement. Small puffs of steam rose invitingly from its surface, beckoning for me to step in.

Naturally I obliged.

I sunk beneath the warm waters, yet another heavy sigh escaped my lips.

This is heaven on earth...

The world around me seemed to vanish, and all I could hear was the soft sound of the water moving around me.

For a moment, I was in a state of pure serenity.

That moment, however, was short lived when the subtlest of whistles of wind broke my concentration.

I groaned in frustration.

Can a woman not have any peace to herself?!

Try as I might, I could not bring myself to block out the sound of the wind outside. It was as though now that I'd heard it, it couldn't be unheard. What was done, was done.

I grabbed the soap and bathed, scrubbing all the sweat away, replacing its rancid scent with one of sweet lavender.

Once I had finished bathing, I climbed out and wrapped a towel round myself. Small rivulets of water trickled down my leg, making me giggle like a child.

I dressed myself in a brown hide pants and woolen shirt. Both were relatively warm and, while no longer needed due to the mages, were welcome.

I left my room, walking down the hallway of the palace. The red carpet stretched down the corridor, fourteen rooms lined each side.

This was the servants quarters and our rooms were small in comparison to the Main bedroom used by the Emperor and his wife.

The wind had died down, no longer did it howl into the night sky, instead now reduced to a soft whisper.

The moon lit up the corridors,shining in through the windows.

One caught my attention. At the end of the corridor sat a large window. It surged upward in length until the frame just barely grazed the floor above.

At the sill, sat a small figure dressed in black. Her blonde hair fell down past her knees, a blindfold draped across her eyes.

"Novora what are you doing up so late?" I asked, smiling as I approached.

Novora's head turned to face me. "Mercury. I cannot sleep."

I sat beside her on the sill, placing my hand on her own so that she may know I was there.

"Ah, your touch is as comforting as always Mercury."

"Have you lost your mind Novora? A blind girl cannot wander the hall's of the palace this late at night." I teased.

Novora smiled, "Perhaps not, but I couldn't help it tonight."

Novora's gaze returned to the window, looking outward as small flakes of white fell from the heavens.

"Look Mercury..."

I looked outside as she asked, and watched as the white snow was slowly replaced by black.

"The Black Snow has begun to fall..."