A Wild Read From Start To Finish

A wild read from start to finish

if you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to live in the midwest, this is it. 

Thanks for the tag :)

Relationship status: In a domestic partnership (not married)

Favorite color: Purple

Song stuck in my head: I See Fire [Celtic Woman]

Last song I listened to: See previous question lmao

Last Googled: Where to find cockpit in The Forest

Dream trip: The beach. Any beach is fine. The less crowded and tourist-y, the better.

Anything I want rn: To not have to go to work in twenty minutes

I'll tag @bones-and-rainbows @cursed-princess-club @ravangie @yourlocaldragondealer

rules: tag 10 people you want to get to know better! Thank you @oatmilk-earlgrey for the tag ☕

Relationship status: single

Fave colour: green

Song/s stuck in my head: Dream Girl Evil - Florence

Last song listened to: Witch - the bird and the bee (Adam Quinn living rent free in my mind as USUAL)

Last googled: "starkid actors"

Dream trip: Trip to various places in Greece that are mentioned in the Iliad/Odyssey!

Anything I want now: REDACTED (Ben)

tagging: @little-deathly-goose @catboyrightsdefender @baynton @tonystarksfabulousass @the-20th-century-girl @maccaloc @ktsphere @eccentricthornback @ensign-ancic @willbonds

Here have some goofy lil bird doodles I did at work

Text:

Quoth the Raven, "Gimme shinies or else"

Practice

"Relax, Rose. You can do this. Just breathe, and let the heat flow through your limbs." 

Winter's voice is a deeply calming sound. I breathe in. I take in the waxy scent of the candles that light the room. I can smell the cotton sheets of my bed, freshly washed by the laundress. The gentle warmth of cinnamon and syrup still lingers from breakfast, long after the dishes were taken away. 

I breathe out, releasing those wonderful smells from my mind along with everything else. My eyes are closed, my mind is empty, my arms are at my sides. It's cold in my room. Winter is making it cold on purpose. 

I lift my left arm. My hand is raised, palm up, elbow bent slightly to hold my hand higher than my head. The cold seeps into my arm, making my fingers tremble. It starts to hurt, but I focus on the heat within my own body. It's hard to concentrate when the cold reaches down my arm to my shoulder. My fingers go numb. It's so cold. 

"Come on, Rose. You know what to do." 

Winter is still here, filling the room and my body with cold. My feet are freezing, and the chill creeps up my legs next. I can't feel my entire forearm. She speaks to me softly, encouraging me, instructing me. I know what to do. 

As I focus entirely on the heat in the core of my body, it swells. The heat rushes along my muscles and bones, chasing away the cold and flooding my limbs with life again. It's such a euphoric feeling. I can't stop myself from opening my eyes, smiling widely and dropping my arm. Winter stands across from me, smiling too. She doesn't say it, but she's proud of me. I can tell by the way her blue eyes sparkle like fresh snow on a frozen lake. 

"Good. Remember this heat. It's essential that you control it, to fill your body with it. Once you can control it, we'll work on using it for other things." 

She comes closer, her hand reaching out. She's so much taller than I am. At only six years old, I barely come up to her hip, even if I wore my fancy shoes with a raised heel. Her hand rests atop my head, the most affectionate gesture she can give. She's not supposed to touch me, but when it's just us, we break the rules a little. Her hand is cold, but I like the way it feels. 

Winter steps away, and she turns to get a candle. As she faces away, the door is kicked in, and two royal soldiers step in. They're not like Winter, who wears leather armor that's scuffed and worn out. These soldiers belong to my mother and father, and their armor is made of shimmering white metal. They wear blood red capes, but each cape is heavily embroidered with white roses, so it resembles the flag of the country. I always loved the way it looked... But right now, I see no beauty in their presence. If the royal soldiers are here, that means I'm in trouble again. 

I don't know why. I haven't been allowed out of my rooms in a year, ever since I accidentally burned a visitor from another country during a dinner party. Even though I tried to explain to Father that I didn't mean to, he still ordered me to stay in my rooms. I haven't seen him or Mother since then. 

Winter spins toward the door when the soldiers barge in. She hates them, hates what they represent, but she respectfully salutes them. The royal soldiers ignore her. They are here for me. I hold out my hands, fists closed tight, and I wait for them to shackle me like they usually do... But this time, there are no shackles. The soldiers don't move. They stand by the doorway, looking down at me with loathing that I don't understand. 

As I lower my arms, bewildered by this strange situation, a familiar figure enters the room. It's Mother! She looks radiant in all white, a beautiful gown that seems to be made entirely of snowflakes. Her hair is white too, tucked up into a lovely braided crown, and more glittering snowflakes decorate her hair. The mere sight of Mother fills me with joy, but her somber expression chills me to the bone. Quick as it came, my joy fades, and I am afraid again. Why is Mother here? 

Mother doesn't look at me for long. She beckons Winter closer, and they speak in low tones for a long time. I drop my arms back to my sides, watching them, absolutely silent so I can hear their hushed voices. Mother is telling Winter about "the prophecy", but I don't know that word. Mother says it's time for the rose to wither. I don't understand why, but this sentence makes Winter turn ashen. 

I wonder if something happened to the gardens. Mother and Father's kingdom is famous for producing white roses that never wilt, so long as they remain in water. I wonder if the magic that makes them is gone. This thought makes me sad, because I love the white roses that always come with my meal trays. I'm not allowed to keep them, but I love touching the velvety petals while I eat. 

I had stopped paying attention for too long, because now Mother is leaving. Winter stands very still, but I noticed her hands are shaking. I open my mouth to ask if she was okay... 

The royal soldiers draw their swords. They walk past Winter, toward me. I don't understand why, but their approach terrifies me. I quickly lift my hands again, thinking they wanted to shackle me after all, but Winter whirls around, screaming, 

"Rose! Get under your bed! Go!" 

Winter has no weapons, but she throws herself at the back of one of the soldiers. She catches him off guard, tackling him to the ground, distracting the second guard. As soon as the second one looks away, I bolt to my bed and scramble under the raised mattress. It's a terrible hiding spot. It doesn't matter. The soldiers are no longer paying attention to me. The second soldier has wrestled Winter to the ground, violently smashing her face against the floor, smearing blood all over the stone. I hear her nose break on the first hit, then something else cracks after the third hit. Winter goes limp, and the soldier lets her head drop to the floor. Both of them laugh when her head bounces on the hard stone, then the first soldier kicks her hard in the side, audibly breaking something else. 

I stare at Winter. At the red pooling under her head. At the shiny white armored boots of the soldiers. They approach the bed. One of them kneels down to look underneath. 

"Where are you, little brat?" He asks with great disdain. My very presence disgusts them both. I don't understand why these men hate me so much. I never did anything to them. How could I? I'm just a child, locked away in a tower and forgotten by everyone. 

Forgotten by everyone except Winter. 

Winter, who lies unconscious or dead on the ground behind the soldiers who hate me. 

There's so much red. 

Unbidden, the heat in my body begins to rise. It fills me from head to toe, fingertip to fingertip, hot and angry and hateful. A harsh screeching sound fills my ears. The soldiers flinch and scramble away from the bed, but it's too late for them. I claw my way out of my hiding place, reveling in the way these spiteful soldiers now cower in fear of me. My dress is burning. My skin became so hot that the fabric ignited, and the flames leap from the cloth to my bedsheets. The fire has a life of its own, fueled by my rage, quickly consuming everything it can around it. 

The soldiers are shrieking now. The flames burned my dress away, but I only feel more hot. The fire has spread so fast around my bedroom, trapping the soldiers against the door. One of them tries to open the door, but the fire latches onto his cloak before he can. It devours the beautiful fabric, then sticks to his armor, beginning to roast him in his metal cage. The other soldier catches fire as well, just as fast. They are both screaming, unable to free themselves, their skin and hair burning from the flames born of my hate. 

The gentle scents from earlier are all gone. All I can smell now is scorched hair and melting flesh. It's a dense stink, but I breathe it deep. This is what my vengeance smells like. 

The flames don't hurt me, of course. And the fire doesn't hurt Winter, either. I won't allow anything else to hurt her... Even if she's dead, I will protect her body until the fire burns the whole tower away. I move to sit beside her body, avoiding the blood pooling under her head. I don't dare touch her. I can't help her. All I can do is sit with her and hope she isn't dead. 

The fire burns everything in the room. The soldiers aren't screaming anymore. I can hear shouting outside the door, but no one dares open the door while my fire still rages. I don't care. I lay beside Winter, curling up in a ball, except for one hand that I reach out to touch her back. I can’t tell if she’s breathing. Maybe she really is dead, and I’m all alone.

Alone in this tower of freezing stone.

Alone with the fire that shatters the windows and begins to burn the door.

Alone in the darkness that creeps in from the edges of my vision.

My hands are too weak to hold tightly to anything, but I cling to Winter’s body with all the strength I can muster. If this is the end, I want my last memory to be of her. Not covered in red, unbreathing and unmoving, but of her smiling proudly at me.

The dark creeps over my vision, and with a gentle sigh, the fire dies out.

Eyy thanks for tag.

Fairly certain I've done this one before, but who cares, I'll do it again. Got a different result anyways.

Tagging: @bones-and-rainbows @ravangie and whoever else wants to join

Thanks for the tag @thelastplantagenet 😊💚

1. Do this uquiz.

2. Do this picrew.

3. Tag people.

feel free to play if you’d like :)

@buncha-angry-kids-with-no-money @thatoneandlonelyemo2005 @with-the-words-all-wrong

🎶 It's the most wonderful time of the year🎶

Spooky season is upon us, my friends. Remember to treat your skeletons nicely, and please spook responsibly.