'Hey, wake up. How much longer are you going to sleep?'
His eyes opened and he sat up, breathing heavily and clutching his chest. He had been dreaming about something important but the details were already getting blurrier. Had it been his sister? He was sure he'd heard her voice.
The light coming in from the window showed that it was already night. The full moon was shining brightly in the sky and he could feel a cold wind coming in from outside. Winter inhaled deeply, trying to collect himself. How long had he been asleep for? He had gone to sleep sometime in the afternoon thinking he'd wake up in a few hours but it looked like it was already late into the night.
As he grounded himself more in reality, he noticed something was off. There were no sounds from outside. Surely, a guard would have woken him up? They would have at least knocked to check on him. Winter was extremely sensitive to noise but he didn't remember waking up in between. He got up quickly, smoothly going up to the door and leaning against it.
As expected- there was no sound. What in the world was happening? The guards would often talk during their shifts or at least move around once in a while to prevent going stiff. There was no scraping of metal against the floor, no low humming of voices and no concerned knocking. It was dead silent.
Just as he contemplated opening the door and seeing for himself, a crash echoed through the room and he turned around to face a tall, intimidating woman. She had long silver hair and was dressed lightly in dark clothing.
"So you're awake?" She said softly. Winter's face contorted and he found himself panicking. This had never happened before. The guards were always outside. One time, a petty thief had come in trying to steal some gold but had been caught immediately. Even then, the thief was smart enough not to try and attempt challenging the king blessed with 'celestial powers'. His reputation had protected him well, even heartless murders trembling at the sound of his name.
Winter didn't speak, eyes darting wildly around the room in search of a weapon as the intruder came closer. "Don't bother. I can practically hear your thoughts."
Ignoring her, he reached out for the closest weapon- a metal pole. Before he could grab it, something came flying at him and the pole was knocked out of his hands. He bit his tongue to stop himself from making any noise and looked at his hand which was already bruised. What had she thrown at him? It wasn't sharp but something sturdy and of decent size.
"I can also see your next move." She continued as if he actually cared about anything she wanted to say.
"Don't believe me?"
Winter inhaled deeply. He still had that device in case of emergencies. If he found it then he could signal to everyone that he was in danger.
"The device won't save you. All your precious guards are dead and I've knocked out the troublesome magic ones too."
He felt like the air had been knocked out of his lungs. How did she know? Nobody knew he had such a device. Even his own guards didn't know. The device was one that would automatically connect to a seal, transmitting a message to its wearer. All the guards and mages wore the seal but they saw it more as a status symbol than something of actual functionality.
"Weren't you listening?" The woman smiled, "It's strange though. If you wanted to then you wouldn't need to listen but you're still not even putting up a fight."
"What do you want?" He snapped, her words infuriating him without him even knowing why they were so maddening.
The woman shrugged as if to concede before lunging at him. Winter dove to the side. She was definitely a weird woman but he was taller than her and he could definitely overpower her in a physical fight. It didn't seem like she had a knife either because if she did then she would have thrown it at him earlier when he was trying to grab the pole.
Rolling under the bed, Winter grabbed the dagger which he hid there and crawled to one corner. The woman smiled as if his actions were of no consequence, already standing before him. He cursed his slow speed, getting up and running towards the door. There was no other choice. He wanted to end their fight in his room, unsure of what trap she could have laid outside but at that rate, it was impossible to beat her while trapped in such a small space.
Just as he was about to reach the door, he felt something pierce his neck- a tiny sharp prick. Instinctively, he pulled whatever it was out.
"A needle?" He found himself saying aloud, his legs suddenly growing numb. His vision swam and he fell to his knees. He could hear the woman laughing maniacally in the background.
"It really is true! You have no power."
Winter frowned, turning towards her as if to retort but he couldn't open his mouth.
"You don't have to talk. I already told you, didn't I? I can see and hear everything even before it happens."
She walked towards him at a leisurely pace, crouching down and grabbing his collar so that they were at face level.
"Figured it out by now? The reason I don't need weapons and the reason you couldn't leave this room."
Winter imagined his frown deepening but he wasn't sure if it was actually happening. His body wasn't listening to him anymore. Some parts felt numb while others seared with pain. All his senses were shutting down and he was left with only his swirling thoughts.
"It's simple really-" She leaned in closer, her voice barely a whisper.
"I can read minds."
'No...that's impossible!' He found himself wanting to say. 'Stop lying! Mind reading is one of the rarest abilities-'
"One of the rarest abilities passed down only in the royal bloodline, right?" She let him go abruptly, his face hitting the ground.
"If you doubt me so much then you can verify it yourself. I'm hurt though." She sniffled, wiping a fake tear from her eye, "Since we're ability siblings, I expected more camaraderie from you."
Winter could barely hear her, his head felt heavy and he was finding it difficult to breathe. Her voice was becoming fainter and all he could hear was the sound of rushing blood. What was that? His heart?
"You know for a second I was starting to think you were actually blessed with the 'Celestial Powers' or whatever. This is my third attempt at poisoning you." She sat down on the bed and spoke with the ease of someone at a friend's house.
"The first attempt was through a leaf but you didn't even get an allergic reaction! People have died instantly because of it, you know? I was truly impressed."
She crossed her legs and lifted two fingers, "The second was through the wine you drank earlier in the day. I switched out the bottles with some potent poison but...all it did was put you to sleep." She sighed and shook her head. "Unbelievable! It was even worse than the first but I guess that's the tolerance of a heavy drunkard for you."
She suddenly stood up, wiping some imaginary dirt off her clothes. "This was my final attempt. One guaranteed not to fail. Judging by your face, it's working as expected. In thirty minutes, your heart will stop. The poison is already eating through your nervous system."
She walked towards the window, turning around one final time.
"I'm telling you this because you're as good as dead. If you survive this then, I'll start believing in God. Well then, good luck."
And with that, she jumped out of the open window- vanishing into the night.