Part Two

There must have been something in that soup to put me to sleep or something because I woke up. Although, it could be that I was just still so weak that I needed the rest, but I wasn’t going to let this crazy lady get the benefit of the doubt. I found my feet untied and the knife I used missing. Other than that, there was no sign of Nathalia. Though to be honest, those two changes were sign enough that she was probably messing with me. I successfully sat up, albeit somewhat painfully, and placed my feet on the floor. The room was even darker now that the fire had died down to mere embers. Taking a deep breath, I pulled myself to my feet. I wobbled some and my whole body wouldn’t stop trembling, but I was standing and that was good enough for me. I spotted the door and bolted for it. I stumbled and clumsily tripped or bumped nearly every object in the room on the way to the door, but I wasn’t stopping for anything short of freedom. Once I made it to the exit, I yanked on the handle and swung open door. A blast of icy cold wind and snow met me, but I ignorantly plowed through anyway. I got about ten feet from the door when it hit me that I just ran into a blizzard. The snow-covered ground had already started numbing my bare feet. It was already dark outside, but the harsh wind and falling snow made it even more difficult to see. I wrapped my arms around myself in an effort to cease my violent shaking, but such was futile. I started to feel lightheaded and I could feel myself start to fall. Something grabbed me from behind. I vaguely remember the blinding snow disappearing into darkness and warmth replacing the cold. Before I knew it, I was sitting in a chair with a blanket wrapped around me. Nathalia was sitting in a chair across from me, sharpening a dagger. “You’re going to have problems if you keep running into life threatening situations like that,” she said calmly. “But who am I to take the fun out of life? I don’t know of any escape attempt more amusing than the one you just pulled.”
I winced as my feet slowly regained feeling. “Please…” I weakly pleaded, “Please, just let me go.”
Nathalia laughed at me. “How so full of spirit, you are. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a storm outside. You’re stuck here until it passes, so lighten up.”
She got up and threw a log on the dying embers. “The soup’s still warm if you want it,” I heard her say. She came back and placed the pot on the table we were sitting at and set a bowl and spoon in front of me. “Try not to dish out more than you can handle this time.” I put my hands around the pot for warmth, but made no move to eat any more of the stuff. Nathalia plopped into the armchair across from me with a sigh She swung her legs over the arm of the chair and sunk into the seat. “You should try actually coming up with a plan before attempting to escape like that.”
“You’re right,” I said with my teeth still chattering a little. “Next time I’ll just knock you unconscious before running.”
“Now I know what to look for,” she answered with a smirk. “Are you always so troublesome? It’s pathetic.”
I glared at her, but dared not say another word.
Nathalia picked up an instrument that had apparently been sitting on the floor up until this point. She held the stringed object and began plucking at the strings. I didn’t recognize any particular melody, but apparently she was enjoying herself. I glared at her either way. When I wasn’t glaring at Nathalia, I was glaring at the window. When I wasn’t glaring at the window, I was glaring at Nathalia. A twisted cycle of dirty looks to one I knew could never see them. I considered throwing the pot of broth at her more than a few times, but restrained myself every time because I couldn’t think of what I would do after that. Besides, such an interruption to her playing would probably produce some very bad results if I didn’t get away immediately. We sat like this for a few hours before Nathalia stopped plucking. She put the lyre down and stood up.
“Good night,” she said cheerfully and walked into a back room. It wasn’t until after I heard the door slam shut that I shouted, “Not if you wake up with a knife in your back!” I heard something slide against the door, presumably a lock. Sighing, I stood up and walked to the door behind which the wind was howling outside. I opened the door a crack to peek out. It was still snowing heavily. I closed the door and went back to sitting on the couch. “It’s no use. Even if I ran…” I slowly admitted to myself the undeniable fact that I had nowhere else to go. I wouldn’t make it very far without the proper gear anyway. I curled up on the couch and felt myself drifting off to sleep.
The storm lasted another day. By the time it was over, the door was sealed shut with ice and snow. We had to wait another three days before we could get out. In that time, I saw very little of Nathalia. She came out a few times to get food and firewood. She took her lyre with her the first time she went back to her room. Other than that, she mostly stayed in the back room. I could occasionally hear her plucking along on the stringed instrument, playing unidentifiable melodies. I was grateful for the solitude, to be honest. I regained the rest of my strength and managed to find a new wardrobe while rummaging through Nathalia’s hut. Hey, if she was going to lock herself on the other side of the house, that’s fine with me. It’s not like she could see that I was wearing her clothes anyway.
On the day the snow finally melted enough to let us get outside, Nathalia woke me up that night an hour or so after I went to sleep. She was barking orders for me to get up and ready to go. I was too disoriented at being woken up so soon to fully realize what was happening, but I pulled on some boots and a cloak. I followed Nathalia outside. The bitter cold air made the rude awakening even worse. All I wanted to do was go back inside the warm hut and resume sleeping. It really hadn’t dawned on me that I was outside. I was only aware that I was standing in the cold instead of sleeping under a warm blanket. I had no idea what I was doing out here.
“This is your first night of training,” Nathalia said in a loud voice.
“Listen, lady. I’m too tired to understand your insanity. I’m going to sleep.” I yawned and headed back to the house. Before I took two steps, something heavy hit me in the back and knocked me facedown to the ground. Let me tell you, a face plant in the snow does wonders to wake you up. I tried to get up, but Nathalia planted her boot on my back and pushed me back down.
She leaned over so she was sure I would hear her. “First lesson. Obey me at all times. When I speak you listen, when I call you come, when I give you an order-”
I cut her off before she could finish, “You want me to obey. I get it, all right?”
Much to my horror, she grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked my head up. “Yikes! Let go!”
“You’re not going to turn this into a problem, are you?” Nathalia asked in that creepy voice of hers.
I winced and tried not to move too much. I was fully awake now, but I kept telling myself this was all a dream.
“N-no…” I whimpered.
“Good,” she said as she let go of my hair and removed her foot. “Never interrupt me again.”
I rubbed the back of my head and slowly rose to my knees. It’s all a dream. A horrible, terrible dream. All of it. I’ll wake up back in my bed at home and none of this will have ever happened. But I knew the truth. There was no changing the past. For now, I could only protect my chance at a future, any future, if I cooperate now. All a horrible dream. I knew I was wrong.