[table][row][cell][img]https://i.imgur.com/VgbuqO2.png[/img][/cell][cell][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/240522/49791553b35fa05b88864f9127dc2df9.png[/img][/cell][/row]
[row][cell][sub]Location: Alchemy Chambers[/sub][/cell][/row][/table]Eris stirred, her body aching as she slowly awoke, heavy blankets wrapped around her like a protective cocoon. Every muscle throbbed with exhaustion, the aftereffects of healing the Princess still weighing her down. Even with Ranni’s help, the strain had been immense, leaving both of them utterly spent. Amaya had been healed, though. It had been worth it.   

Her breath came slow and steady, her limbs reluctant to move as she blinked open tired blue eyes. The world beyond her window was swallowed in a never-ending storm of heavy, drifting snowflakes. The moon’s glow was muted behind thick, unbroken clouds. The air in the room was cold despite the warmth trapped beneath the covers, and Eris barely had the strength to move under their weight.  

Her eyes flicked toward the bedside table, where her journal lay open, pages filled with hastily scribbled notes. She blinked slowly, once, twice, struggling to piece together the fragments of her memory from the night before. It was all hazy, disjointed. She knew she left the royal cabin to find that guard—Charlotte Hawthorne—waiting for her amidst the snow. Charlotte had gladly walked her back to the Alchemy Chambers, but during the walk over… her mind had faded, memories getting lost along the way.

Her gaze lingered on the journal for a long moment, her thoughts sluggish, her head beginning to throb with the steady formation of a headache. A quiet groan escaped her lips as she shut her eyes, pulling the blankets over her head and curling in on herself. 

Just a little longer. 

But the thought was fleeting, and guilt crept in almost immediately. There was still so much to do—things to study, people to check on, problems to solve, a journey to prepare for. She couldn't lie here forever, no matter how heavy her limbs felt. With a weary sigh, she exhaled against the fabric of her blankets, knowing she couldn’t afford the luxury of staying in bed. Not today. Not ever.

Slowly pulling the blankets away from her face, Eris pushed herself upright, wincing as an ache traced its way from her palms to the back of her neck. Her gaze wandered back to the journal on the bedside table, and after a moment’s hesitation, she reached out and picked it up.

She didn’t remember writing them, but it must have been right after she returned from the royal residence—scrawled through the haze of exhaustion while the memories were still fresh. The pages detailed the healing process, noting the presence of ice and psychic magic in the Princess, and on Ranni’s troubling lack of control over the psychic abilities she must have gained through her transformation. 

[color=B1E4FC]“Thank you, past Eris,”[/color] she muttered, begrudgingly swinging her legs out from under the warm cocoon of blankets and planting her feet on the cold wooden floorboards. With a shiver, she grabbed a soft, fuzzy grey blanket and wrapped it around her head and shoulders like a makeshift cloak.  

She padded out of her room, moving slowly toward the living room. The air was freezing, and she needed to stoke the fire to return warmth to her weary bones.

As she rounded the corner, Eris froze, her heart skipping a beat at the unexpected sight—a figure sprawled out on her couch, buried beneath a heap of blankets. She gripped her own blanket tighter, breath catching as her eyes flicked to the familiar shield propped up against the couch. A strand of dark black hair peeked out from beneath the covers, and recognition set in.  

[color=B1E4FC]“Charlotte?”[/color]


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[sub][b]Interactions:[/b] Charlotte [@SpicyMeatball][/sub]