how come I never got used to the feeling of sleeping in a cage?
too long driving, too damn hungry; a tied-up hound but nothing stays
A year has already passed since she initially stepped into Sylva’s autumnal embrace. It isn’t Hyaline – nor will it ever be – and somehow that eases the prickling worries at the back of her mind. Her birthplace is a princess with her head in the clouds fantasizing about peace and love, but Sylva is the cloaked figure lurking in the shadows, biding its time in wait for opportunity. After having been raised in a world of butterflies and rainbows, Valdis finds herself more and more drawn to the hazardous and conniving lifestyle. It sends chills down her spine as she threads among the trees, pausing only briefly to observe her reflection in a pond.
Fingers of sunlight slant down from the forest canopy, dappling the undergrowth. It reflects off her skin, like diamonds dancing across her. Memories flash across her mind. A tumultuous task forced her into frigid waters and into a blizzard. It ripped the breath from her lungs. Still, she pushed on with unwavering determination. She, admittedly, didn’t expect to find success tied into her half-brother, but they survived. Standing on the Mountain with a tangle of branches and ice, Valdis was decorated with the attributes of her conquest.
The frost is a reminder of what she is capable of. Nothing could stop her then.
Nothing will stop her now.
But what, exactly, is she wanting?
Sinner flickers to mind. His face breaches from the shadows and she trembles at the intensity of his eyes. But she also smiles to herself. What she wants from him – his touch, his attention – lies uncontested. Mary, fortunately, has no interest. Admittedly, Valdis didn’t plan to either. She remembers stumbling backward, afraid of him, afraid of what he was. How has it already changed so much? Now she craves the warmth that branches from his lips. She enjoys how his eyes hungrily rake across her. But besides him, what does she want?
As Valdis blinks and looks away from her reflection, she broods in silence. An answer doesn’t come, not yet. It lies within her, restful in its dormant state to allow her emotions to seize her for now. It’s a sleeping bear while her impmulses and hormones cloud what ambitions she originally had upon arriving to Sylva.
What she wants isn’t forgotten, not entirely, but for the first time in years, Valdis has reached a state of contentment and comfort.
Valdis