The next time I woke up, it was light.

Those tiny ringing bells shrieked through the room as I sat up, but my head felt a little lighter.

Slowly, I opened my eyes.

I sat on a large bed with a poison green canopy and green silk sheets. A mountain of pillows supported my numb shoulders. The room was spacious, with the walls either side of me a good five metres away on both sides. The wall across from me held a tapestry and two large windows, which had metal bars secured on the outside.

Looking down, I saw that I was wearing a flowy white dress trimmed with fine lace. This was too nice to be mine. It had fallen off at the shoulder but neither of my arms would move enough to right it.

My god, how much my hair would need a brush.

Forcing my numb hand up, I searched for the knotted tresses. There were none by my neck. Beginning to panic, I forced my hand up higher, only relaxing a little when it hit a soft patch of hair right at the top of my neck.

The rest of it was gone though.

The tapestry shifted and I lurched back as a figure popped out. It was a middle aged lady, she held a tray. As soon as her eyes met mine, she rushed over to set the tray down on the table next to me, before zipping back over to the main door. She stuck her head outside it for a second, then came back in. Then the maid took her time to move back to me. She took a glass of water from the tray, leaving a bowl full of thin green stuff, and tried to press it to my lips.

Heavily, I pushed her away.

A light rumble, like the way a riptide feels, fell from her mouth. Gently, I shrugged, remembering the last time I had been awake, how powerless I had felt when I realised that my ears were noncompliant. Maybe if I just kept quiet, I wouldn't go to sleep again. I didn't want to sleep again.

Time passed, I'm not sure how much, but then the main door slammed open.

The prince came in, still the skeleton. He was dressed for a hunt. In a second, Gavrila's eyes snapped wide open and he rushed to sit down on the bed by me. The prince took my hands in his and my head lolled to the side so I could face him. I squinted as his lips began to move.

"-oo hear me?" He spoke slowly, holding his hair out of his face with his free hand. His beard still practically obstructed the lips.

Slowly, I shrugged. Sudden movements felt like the perfect fire to my panic, so I tried to fight them.

"How much can - hear?" His lips were cracked, the dark hairs soft against them. It was a little easier to try and match them up with the heavy vibrations coming from his chest now.

Again, my shoulders lifted. "Your voice sounds...heavy. There's water blocking my ears. I can't hear you very well."

Ganechka's lips moved again, leaning forward to kiss my forehead. When he sat back, the maid handed him a notebook and a pencil, before melting back into the wall hangings. He scribbled something down onto the pad, then passed it to me to inspect the scrawled handwriting.

It might be easier for you to understand this way

Weakly, I smiled at it. If I could just restrain my panic for half an hour then maybe I could get some decent answers. "Where is my hair?" My throat felt like it had been shredded. The maid came forward again with the water. Gavrila took it from her and put it to my lips, watching my movements closely as I tried to keep it in my throat long enough to soothe.

In the moment our eyes locked, the pains throughout my body melted away.

Then he looked back down to the pad.

You had a fever. Bad fever. We had to cut the hair off because you overhe-

He took it back before I could finish reading to add; You're still beautiful though. So beautiful.

My arm still felt like lead as I lifted it up to feel the hair again. Even though it stopped at my chin, it was tangled.

Any more questions?

I thought for a moment, then held out my hand for more water. Gavrila kept his right hand firmly around the glass, slipping his left behind my head as I drank it.

"Why don't my ears work?" My throat felt a little smoother this time.

We think the infection might've damaged your hearing. It might come back.

This time I watched as he wrote the words.

Howard punched you so hard that it knocked you asleep for a week. I thought I'd lost you for a while. You got an ear infection in both ears. You're safe now though and I won't let anyone hurt you.

"Can I go home?" I whispered, managing to sit up a little more. Gavrila took the bowl of green stuff off of the tray. He gave me a spoonful of the soup, whilst cold it tasted amazing.

The prince put the soup down, holding my face in his hands. He shook his head gently.

He spoke again, but "-safe," was all I caught. From the frown on his face, I assumed he meant that it wasn't safe for me to go back.

I felt the door bang open before I saw it. An old man with rough white hair and an even rougher face barged into the room. He, too, was dressed for a hunt. Gavrila stood up quickly, very nearly spilling my soup. Without the prince's support, I slumped back a little into the bed.

The two men engaged in rapid conversation. I couldn't read either of their lips but the older man was furious. Gavrila looked back at me for a moment, then stalked out of the room, the old man slammed the door as he followed him out.

Once Ganechka was gone, I sat back and let the maid come forward to help me with the soup. I let her feed me if only to save the fine dress they had put me in. One of my hands found itself in my short hair again.

A lady with short hair, a lady with no hearing, a lady with no freedom.

You're still beautiful though. So beautiful.