And her name is…

I know this is a dream and not a memory because I am in my cell, but I am on a queen sized bed. The mattress is soft and the blankets are fluffy, and all I want to do is roll in it. The prison door opens and I see Wulfric wearing an unbuttoned tunic and a pair of trousers but that’s all.

He beams a smile at me. “Hello little mouse.”

His words sends a shiver through my body. Despite knowing this dream isn’t quite right I still look for the food tray he always delivers. He laughs at my obvious confusion, and hunger, before reaching the bars and pulling out his key.

“It’s not time for your meal, it’s time for my dessert,” he says through a wicked smile before locking the door behind him and tossing the key out of reach. “I’m going to devour you.”

Another shiver courses through my body and I just stare, gathering all the blankets around myself like I can hide. He uses them against me, tying the blanket around my upper half and cocooning my arms. He moves to the bottom of the bed, taking my ankles and bending my knees up, then climbs up the bed and pushes my knees to either side.

I hear the tear of my pants and then feel the cold breeze on my aching centre. The anticipation is simultaneously killing me and terrifying me. He smiles up at me and I see him lean forward as he inhales.

“Don’t look so scared,” he chuckles, catching my face as I struggle inside the sheets. “You’re the one that got me addicted to you, you should have known I’d come back for more.”

I don’t let my eyes wander way from Wulfric’s as I think I hear something else in the room. That other sound can only be upsetting and I try to focus all of my senses on Wulfric. He moves slowly closer to me and I can feel his hot breath on my wet lips. A sound outside my cell makes me jump, and like he seems to know I need more of a distraction as he moves the rest of the way to touch his mouth to my centre.

Don’t look, don’t hear, don’t smell,… only feel.

Something else is here, and they’re watching.

—

When I wake up I’m soaked in sweat and my panties are just.. soaked. Fear and excitement coat my tongue and make it feel thick, like I’ve been biting and chewing it in my sleep. I need a shower and I’m exhausted, but I won’t let Wulfric scent fear on me like I’m some prey animal. That little thought is enough to get me sitting lazily in the shower and washing my skin vigorously. After that I go to my closet and grab something frivolous, something that says I don’t need optimal mobility to kill your ass.

As it turns out, nothing says that like tulle.

The dream has me feeling off kilter, and I know it’s stemming from a handful of fears, insecurities, and concerns. Wulfric being here puts a very dangerous piece on the board, and I don’t know where he thinks him and I stand. The last time he consciously saw me was when he believed my bed had broken and stabbed me before I took his energy. I vaguely remember him seeming worried, but I’m sure it has a lot to do with his fear of trying to explain to Kheliq how I ended up naked, empaled, and smelling of sex. He had been gentle with me though. Softer than he needed to be.

I’m leaving my room when my bare toes kick a small box and I pick it up.

‘I don’t know how many ways I can say I’m sorry but I will try them all -H’

Hmm

I look at the box and there’s an ‘I’ on the lid. Looking down the hall there are others and I can’t tell if I’ve gone pale or I’m blushing. They’re all different sizes and the bold letters on the tops clearly spell ‘I am Sorry’. I collect them all and bring them quickly into my room and close the door.

I wonder how many people saw these this morning.

Inside the first box is a small fae ivy plant, with leaves of an almost teal. In the box marked ‘A’ there is a bundle of fresh apples, something he would have had to seriously beg Vera for since they are out of season and the greenhouse is her baby. ‘M’ contained mittens, ‘s’ contained a very soft scarf that matched my hair, and ‘o’ contained a bracelet with shinning opals. I pulled the lids off the two ‘R’ boxes at the same time to reveal a single ruby ear cuff and a collection of the hair ribbons I had mentioned I liked when Pretta used. The last box has me curious and honestly I should have guessed a few of them, but the ‘Y’ has me stumped. I’m not prepared when I open the box and see a stuffed animal resembling what I believe to be a Yali.

A Yali is from Hindu mythology, looking sort of lion-likethis creature was symbolic for protecting temples. Many ‘myths’ were actually creatures that escaped the Sioga realm, and they’d live long enough to cause problems and start rumours before being unable to survive without some part of their diet or were hunted. The gumberoo are another such creature and though these two would never be found in the same environment, they both exist on this side of the mountain range.

The stuffed creature is soft, and large enough to hold with my entire forearm. I find myself squeezing it and burying my face into the material with high levels of cute-aggression. Of all the gifts, I like this one the best, enough that I briefly consider bringing it to breakfast. Instead I tuck the animal onto my bed and find myself feeling a little vulnerable at leaving something I actually like behind in the room.

What is wrong with me? It is a stuffed mammal, not my kidney.

When you like someone and they give you gifts, you wear them or try them on immediately. However, I am still mad at Helion and I don’t plan on making this easier on him. He made it potentially very awkward for me and anyone I ran into in the hall while collecting all eight boxes, and deserves a little of what I can dish out.

I put the plant by the window, apples on the table and then everything else makes it to the bathroom counter, except the ruby ear cuff. This he included because he must have noticed that in addition to the holes in my ear lobes, I had a hole at the top. near the point of my ear, that would have been hidden before.

The cuff is as wide as my pinky with a small curved post to thread through the hole that then clicks into the cuff Ike its part of the metal pattern surrounding the ruby. It creates a seamless look and it doesn’t look like anything else he’s ever given me. The red gem is so dark it looks like its black under anything but direct light. The colour startles me when I see it move toward red, but it’s so dark I can easily trick myself into forgetting it has colour at all, let alone red.

I will rarely ever see it in the direct light. Maybe this is my first step in taking it back.

I go down to breakfast and Helion is sitting there, clearly watching his food get cold. When I walk in I realize he was stalling himself to wait for me. His face looks to the opening door, his eyes find me right away, and he looks momentarily hopeful before taking in my appearance.Good.I know he’s noticed I’m didn’t bring the scarf or gloves for my walk with Nyx but I haven’t bothered to glammer my ears or eyes, and though my eyes look normal now if my magic flares it will show.

Noryth and Wulfric aren’t at the table, but neither is Ricard. I take my seat beside Nyx and she smiles at me, registers I’m still mad at Helion, and glares daggers at him. I uncover my plate and take a bite before addressing his persistent eyes.

“Yes?” I ask.

He seems relieved that I spoke to him and cautions a smile. “Did you get my message?”

I nod. “I did.”

“Did you not like the scarf?” He asks carefully, see as how I’m wearing a black one instead.

I shrug. “Didn’t fit.”

He looks confused but Noryth walks in with long strides to interrupt him. “How does ascarfnot fit?”

“If you’d like to come to my room I’d be happy to show you just how tightly it will fit around your neck,” I bite back.”

“Still holding a grudge?” He scoffs, taking a piece of fruit from a bowl in the middle. “When are you going to give that up?”

I’m seething but trying to remain outwardly calm. “How about when I can walk without a limp.ORperhaps when I the sound of opening a jar doesn’t make me cringe. But, come to think of it, I would settle for being able to hold a fork.”

He goes to speak but pauses, considers, and still opens his big mouth. “Why the jar?”

I lean forward and he copies my gesture, leaning towards me as I say softly. “Because Kheliq would cut my wrists and arms and let me bleed openly into a glass jar before his lovely parties.” I smack him up the side of the head and he startles back. “Now get lost kid you’re bothering me.”

He rubs his head and glares at me. “Kid?!”

I narrow my eyes. “I’m older than you, by more than a few decades, and don’t you forget it.”

He grumbles but Tiago is laughing. “Serves you right Noryth. It doesn’t matter how much training you’ve had she has you with experience, and honestly that she didn’t crack in six years should be enough to give you pause.”

“She was also a prisoner for six years, where I’ve never been caught!” He barks back like the child he is.

My mind flashes to how I wascaught.All my friends dead on my birthday, their screams that I could do nothing about, and my limp body carried off. My comfortable life was ruined in seconds and from there the voice in my head grew quiet from weakness where before it was quiet in contentment. Now I feel like I have to force it back more every day.

I open my mouth to warn him against angering me but a voice unlike my own comes out. “Finish that thought and they’ll have to dust up what’s left of your body.”

Those around me pause and I can feel all of their eyes on me. I can’t stop glaring at him though. His face starts to pale but I don’t look away. I feel Tiago place his hand on top of mine on the table and realize my magic has been drifting out like a fog you can’t see.

“You’ve never been caught because youexpectdanger.Thinkabout that.” I continue to hold his eyes and my lip twitches up as I stifle a snarl. “I lived there for over one hundred years peacefully before an army of Sioga came with a king at their lead. We didn’t have weapons ready, we hadn’t angered anyone, and everyone in town kept to ourselves to keep me a secret. It was my fucking birthday!”

He hesitates before blinking and backing down. “Theodosine, I’m sorry.”

I blink too and sit back in my chair. “Yea, well, don’t do it again.”

I’m not even sure what I’m referring to, but he nods and leaves with his fruit. I’m glad the ones that remain gather that I’m not in the mood to speak. I eat in silence and then go for a walk outside alone. Nyx was called to the gym for an accident and, though she invited me to tag along, I was looking forward to some time alone.