Conquering His Cold Heart

After her belly was full, she lay down on the sofa while facing the window and a thick book in her hand.

She probably would still have been worried sick regarding the meeting that Caspian and her brother were going to have tonight. But after getting the consolation from Tilla, she stopped worrying about it and rather focused her attention on keeping herself warm.

“Tilla, pass me the blanket, will you?” Anastasia asked her handmaid who was busy gathering all the plates and bowls from the table.

“Ah, sure.” Tilla quickly put the utensils on the tray and ran towards the bedchamber. She ran back with the blanket in her hand and spread it to cover the Queen’s lower body that she had rested on the sofa.

“Is this okay? Is the cold entering from anywhere?” Tilla asked Anastasia while tucking the blanket from all sides.

Anastasia gave a smile and shook her head. “It’s not cold anymore. Thank you, Tilla.” She then went back to reading her book.

Tilla straightened her back and looked at Anastasia for a while. She wondered if it was okay to leave the Queen alone for a while.

Anastasia felt the continuous gaze from Tilla. So, she looked up at her and asked, “Is… something wrong?”

.....

“Um…” Tilla pointed at the tray behind the Queen and said, “I was wondering if I should take those dishes back to the kitchen right away or if I should take them back after a while.”

Anastasia understood that Tilla was worried about her. Thus, she reassuringly said, “Oh, it’s alright. You can take it back. And you should also go and eat your breakfast while it’s hot.”

“I can sit with you if you want… until the King comes back,” Tilla offered to give company to Anastasia if she was to feel lonely. She didn’t want Anastasia to go back to overthinking and unintentionally hurting herself.

Anastasia smiled and reassured Tilla again, “I will be fine. You said yourself that Caspian won’t be here until it is afternoon. You shouldn’t stay hungry for my sake.”

Tilla finally relented to Anastasia’s concern for her. “Alright, I will be back as soon as I can.”

“You can take your time. Don’t choke on your food,” Anastasia said with a smile.

Tilla gave a polite bow and went to pick up the tray.

After Anastasia heard Tilla shutting the door behind her, she heaved a sigh and looked out of the window. She could see that it was still foggy outside. At times, she could even hear the wind howling.

‘The cold is increasing day by day, isn’t it?’ she thought to herself as a melancholic smile appeared on her face. ‘I wonder when it will start snowing.’

She became even sadder when she recalled her childhood memories. She would always sit by her window and watch her brother running around in thick snow, having a snowball fight with his attendants.

At that time, she didn’t quite understand why she wasn’t allowed to play outside. And she used to get jealous of her brother for always getting to enjoy himself while she used to be shut behind her doors.

‘I want to play in the snow with Caspian… At least once,’ she folded her knees and thought while resting her jaw on her knees.

Her mind kept on repeating all those past memories of her when she was in Orsenia. Some of them were sweet, some were sad, and some were even devastating. But even then, she wouldn’t trade those precious memories of her life in Orsenia with anything.

‘Ah! I wish I could meet our parents.’ Anastasia took a deep breath in and wondered how often her parents missed her.

While thinking about it all, Anastasia didn’t realize how much time had passed already.

She heard the knock on the door followed by Tilla’s voice. “Your Majesty, I am back.”

Anastasia raised her head in surprise and looked at the closed door. “Come in, Tilla,” she asked.

Tilla slightly pushed the door open, barely wide enough for her to squeeze through. And after closing the door shut, she walked toward the Queen. Though it was subtle, it looked like Tilla was limping.

Anastasia instantly noticed the way Tilla was walking. And upon further watching her closely, Anastasia noticed that Tilla’s gown had some dust around her knee area.

Anastasia instantly straightened her back and asked her friend in a deeply worried tone, “Tilla, what happened?”

Tilla gave a nervous smile and shook her head. “Nothing. I um… fell down on my way here. That’s all.”

Anastasia was even more worried when she heard that. “Are you sure you are okay?” She put her book aside and quickly got down from the sofa.

“I am okay…” Tilla emphasized and tried to calm Anastasia down.

However, Anastasia was already crouching down in front of her and was about to lift Tilla’s gown.

“Anna!” Tilla laughed in embarrassment and quickly stepped back. “What are you trying to do? If the King saw us now, he would smack me on the head thinking that I made you kneel down before me.”

“I am just trying to check if you are hurt.” Anastasia quickly hopped and grabbed Tilla’s gown again.

But Tilla bent down and pressed her gown so that Anastasia wouldn’t lift it. “I am not hurt!” she kept on giggling because of Anastasia’s behavior.

Anastasia looked up at Tilla and pouted. “Come on. You don’t have to be shy in front of me.”

However, when Tilla didn’t cooperate, Anastasia narrowed her eyes and said in a stern manner, “Your Queen is ordering you to sit down and show your knees to her.”

Tilla sighed and chuckled when Anastasia used her Queen card on her. “Alright, alright,” she mumbled and sat down on the carpet.

Anastasia also sat down beside her and slowly and carefully lifted the gown.

Both of the ladies gasped in shock when Tilla’s knees were revealed. The knees were badly bruised, with slight traces of blood as well.