The sun shine brightly, covering the inhabitants of the earth in a warm glow. I could feel it from the window and Noah's room and the warm weather signified a good day for a walk in the garden. Without waiting to be told, or more specifically, without anyone coming to tell me I wasn't allowed out of the palace, I burst out of the room, my shoes scurrying against the smooth surface of the castle tiles. In no time I was in front of the many doors Ethan had shown me before leaving. My hand gingerly held the doorknob, and the warmth that pulsated underneath my palm confirmed my decision. I was making the right choice and because of this, the door swung open in one push.There weren't any reflective surfaces on the outside, but I really didn't need any to know my face had morphed already, into one of disappointment with a tinge of confusion and a sprinkle of anger. Instead of the sun beating down on the many variations in the garden, the celestial light assigned to rule the day was still u

"Here you go, darling." My hands wrapped around the cup like object Diana gave me. " Drink up."Whatever was in it was steaming and the aroma wasn't exactly pleasant. It reeked of so many vile things mixed together I felt like throwing up. Diana must have sensed my hesitation to down what could very much end my entire existence or maybe she caught a whiff of the way I scrunched up my face at the smell."It's okay, darling. You can drink it." She called out to me. Like she was giving some kind of reassurance, she raised her cup and emptied its content in one gulp. She looked fine, even though she was as good as a spiritual being so no harm could come to her.She nodded kindly, quietly urging me. I made a quick prayer to the moon goddess before bringing the cup-like object close to my lips. Giving it a gentle push, I tilted my head backwards to allow the liquid to pass through. It was a bit slimy and I almost gagged, until a citrusy flavour danced on my tongue. It was sweet, a little bi

I thought getting the already written letter out would be a problem. It was, but it wasn't so much a hassle as actually awaiting a response. I knew it would actually take a while before he wrote back, but I wasn't expecting it to take this long. It'd been three days and yet no word from him. I hadn't traveled past the spheres of the kingdom before but I didn't think Montessouri was too far. To be honest, I didn't think it was far at all. If it was far, Ethan wouldn't have had the pleasure to leave as late as he did the last time. Or was it something else?Maybe he didn't receive it. A thought struck me. Maybe Noah had found out about my letter and ambushed it on the way. Had he somehow sabotaged my attempt at finding out the truth? Here I was being paranoid about Ethan not replying when there was a high possibility Ethan never even got the letter. I began to feel worried, nervousness raking through me. Suddenly, I couldn't concentrate. I couldn't wrap my head around anything else asid

"Are you sure that's what the letter said?" Zoe asked me again, like asking the same question over and over again would change anything. " Maybe you misread him or misquoted him even."" I did not." As opposed to how I normally would be, I was calm, my own reflection starring back at me from my vanity's mirror. My skin was a bright pink and my face, well, it was only a few shades from being as red as a tomato and I wasn't exaggerating. After reading the letter in the bathroom, I immersed myself in the soapy water again, this time pushing even my head underneath the foaming liquid. I only came up for air at intervals and I'd made sure to increase the waters temperature. What I'd planned to achieve with that, I actually had no idea.I guess the long dip had some sort of benefit, most of my wounds were no longer bleeding and my face had been scrubbed clean of the muddy lines those withered branches slapped against my cheeks. My hair was soaking wet, but free from twigs and every other ev

EIGHTY NINE"This is hopeless." I murmured against my palm that was resting on my face, causing me to sound incoherent. "Utterly and foolishly hopeless.""It's not .." Zoe paused, thinking of something to say to cheer me up but it didn't work. There was nothing she could say, except she'd found out the location of Noah's father's study, which I was very sure she was still in the dark as much as I was. " I don't know. Can't we ask Ethan?""Ethan can't help us. He can't…..""He must know something." Zoe cut in. " I'm sure he can help us. What did he say in his letter?"" Ethan can't help us." I repeated the phrase, hoping it would sink into her head this time. "He knows nothing….""But they grew up together…." She cut in again…"Yes and he moved when he was little." I finished up for her incase she had forgotten. " They moved to Montessouri.""What did he say in his letter?""He thinks Noah's father is still alive. I doubt he'd know anything about the study though, so what could he poss