The Princess and the Pea

Even with the thick furs that made up her bed, sometimes her room in the depths of her family's home was too damp and cool for her liking. Most often, she'd tough out the chill simply out of her own stubbornness, but that night as she lay awake- her mind refusing to slow long enough to break, it didn't take her long to admit defeat. With a quiet grumble to herself, she eventually hauled herself up as silently as she could, trying her best not to disturb anyone. It wasn't out of consideration for any of her relatives, more out of the uncertainty she maintained when it came to exchanging small talk. Her patience ran thin while struggling to explain herself.

In the low lighting, her sterling gaze settled on one of the smaller furs that lay sprawled out on her bed. She moved to grab it, tossing it over her shoulders as she crept her way outside into the humid warmth of the pale moonlight. Things had already begun to cool off in the absence of the summer sun- though the exterior rock still clung to some of the lingering heat. When the wind blew hard enough, there was still a bit of a bite to it, but the outcropping of rock did she intended to lay against did a good job at taking the worst of it. Gently removing the blanket from her back, she smoothed it out over a flat spot just outside the entrance. Satisfied, Mariah circled a time or two before making herself comfortable.

As her attention lingered on the sparkling lake in the distance, watching the subtle glimmer as it mirrored the night sky- the ambiance of the evening did more to instill a sense of peace than any words of comfort could have. The echo of the ocean marked time for the entire island, and while it was doing a somewhat effective job at slowing the pace of her thoughts as they raced through the back of her mind. It just wasn't quite able to halt the procession altogether. Within any luck, she could find her surrender before the sunrise ... but for now, she would wait.

"Mariah Mendacium"