"Naeva! Naeva!" A screeching voice pierced through the frosty morning air, jolting her awake.
Naeva delved deeper into her white faded sheets, snuggling herself into the residing warmth - her petite body disappearing underneath the covers, wishing the screeching voice she had heard every day, every morning of her existence would disappear.
"Mmm" she groggily answered. Her nasally sweet voice floating out coquettishly, as she pushed her head deeper into her old pillow.
A huff was heard beside her, accompanied by a cold chill from the tatty wooden open door and a blinding light through the ice tinted large window as the sound of curtains moving was heard.
"Naeva, you need to get up" the plump elderly looking maid sighed. Her clothes almost appearing like rags, looking worn for years.
Regardless of her stern demeaner and voice, she carried a warmth and tenderness in her eyes for the fae currently slumbering and becoming conjoined with the bed. Her white hair affray, her clothes and her weary crow feet surrounded eyes showed she had not had the easiest life.
The little fae was the reason for a majority of her aging, she did not understand how someone so adorable, innocent, and well behaved became so spoilt and lazy in the morning. With a exasperated huff, she shook her head, approaching the bed.
The floor boards creaked wearily with age, feeling much like she was. Tired, worn out, and giving in.
The harvest was terrible. Although they previously did have enough to eat, the winters were much harsher than ever before. Frost encompassing the land and slums with a chill of death - not a patch of green to be seen.
She had been entrusted with the duty to care for the fae, to ensure that she stays alive, even in these horrible conditions.
Noticing the maid was deep in thought and had suddenly ceased her shrill cries, the fae on the tattered bed slowly peaked her head full of while long hair out of the duvet, her wide doe - like silver eyes looking around for the sleep depriver. Smiling, showing a mischievous curve of the lip, she reached out and stretched, letting out a loud yawn.
"Morning Bersa" she chirped, her voice akin to wind chimes, clear and smooth. A few curled white hairs flopping over her forehead, making her look languid and well rested.
Chuckling at the adorable fae, she moved away the stray curls, patting Naeva on the head "Get up, get washed, we have a lot to do today" she smiled, her eyes crinkling.
Naeva jumped out of the bed, reaching her full height of 5'2, before running to the bathroom, her long white hair reaching her mid waist, swaying with her enthusiastic footsteps - ready to start a new day.
Entering the bathroom, Naeva did her entire routine, consisting of washing her face with water, brushing her teeth and taming her wild curls, which wasn't much considering she did not have any luxury items such as beauty products like the nobles had - not that she minded. If she did have such luxury items, she would most likely be too lazy to use them.
Raising her head after rinsing her mouth, she smiled at the mirror.
Smiling back was a pale woman with blush pink apple cheeks, red pouty lips, a small nose and big silver doe eyes framed by snowy lashes.
Looking closer at her eyes in the mirror, Naeva questioned once again why her eyes were a glaring silver. Not that she had seen any eyes other than Bersa's, which were blue. As far as she knew, silver belonged only to the fae who could control divine ice.
Royals.
Sat at the creaky table draped in a simple cloth, gobbling down her hard bread and watery soup - rosy cheeks bulging as she chewed, the fae mulled over her tasks for the day
Sat at the creaky table draped in a simple cloth, gobbling down her hard bread and watery soup - rosy cheeks bulging as she chewed, the fae mulled over her tasks for the day.
She needed to collect wood, mop the floors and defrost the castle windows.
Although originally, Bersa would complete these tasks alone – she was getting older, and with Naeva continuously insisting that she wanted to help, Bersa had no choice but to oblige.
She needed to quickly start the tasks herself, or the fae was sure that Bersa would try to complete them alone to prevent her doing dirty work.
Picking up the bowl of bland soup and downing the remainders she licked her lips, grabbed her shawl, put on her slippers and skipped down the dark endless corridors – a hauntingly cold chill brushing her cheeks.
She never knew why she had lived alone in an abandoned broken castle with a maid. She saw Bersa as her mother figure, for as long as she could remember it had always been just the two of them, alone in a decimated castle surrounded by a vast ice forest – frozen white trees, mystical lakes and the chill of deaths embrace.
The forest almost seemed to serve as an impenetrable fortress. Whether to keep others out or her inside, she couldn't decide.
She always had questions; What did people outside look like? Were they like her? Did they eat the same food?. She wanted to know desperately, but she never dared to ask. Worried about Bersa's possible reaction to her curiosity, she kept the questions in her head. She didn't want to seem greedy, ungrateful and unsatisfied with all she had been given.
Curious as she was, she would never venture outside unless Bersa gave permission, as all she knew were brief pieces of the history of the fae's and the royals. She knew she would never survive outside alone.
Therefore, after completing her tasks for the day she was going to ask Bersa to teach her all she needed to know so she could venture outside and see the world past the haunted ice forest. After all, it was only 2 weeks until she turned 21. Naeva was sure that she could convince Bersa that this would be her birthday present.
Thinking this, she smiled to herself, pink cheeks growing rosier, her silver eyes flashing with excitement as she skipped down the corridors and out into the terrace where the wood needed to be collected.
One thing she was sure of – it would be an experience she would never forget.