***
Arielle had been locking herself in her room all day. The question that King Ronan asked yesterday was still etched in her heart. Meanwhile, Tania sat nearby, adding firewood to the fireplace to keep Arielle's room warm.
"My apologies, Your Highness… If only I could read and write, perhaps I could be of some help…."
"It's not your fault, Tania. Stop blaming yourself…"
Arielle bit her thumb, and Tania let out a long sigh seeing her master's bad habit returned. With her legs still not fully recovered, Tania approached Arielle, who sat on the edge of the window.
"What is Your Highness worrying about?"
"Nothing… There's nothing I'm worried about…." Arielle lied and bit down on her thumb again. Her eyes wandered to the pile of snow in the garden.
Tania smiled then pulled her master's hand so that the girl would stop biting her thumb. "Your Highness, you are biting your thumb again. That means Your Highness is thinking about something…"
