I left Lyra at the dorm, following the girl’s instruction as she’d explained. 

The brick road winded into the little forest at the edge of the campus, a healthy distance away from all activity. 

Why in Cron’s eye would they house me here?

I followed the split to the left, the road beneath my feet turning to a dirt path. I wondered if it was because of my royal status but that answer didn’t seem to fit. No one had batted an eye since I’d arrive so it seemed as if they didn’t really care about royal titles. Then what was it? I wondered. 

The forest was alive with the sounds of nature and birds singing about, each step I took taking me further into the heart of the woods.

The road stopped in front of a narrow stairway, the railings crusted with weather and dried vines, which snaked all around the rusted metal. There was a small landing before the stairs veered right and a second flight had to be climbed. My lungs already felt winded just by looking at them. 

Oh well. It couldn’t be helped.

I climbed and climbed and when I reached the last step I cursed the person who’d made me live here. 

Living in the middle of the woods, climbing stairs.

I was a princess for goodness sake, not some forest elf.

The Cottage stood a few paces away from the landing, the small brick structure was larger than I’d expected. It was more a house than a cottage but it looked homey. 

I walked to the front door, a solid slab of wood that had no knocker as if whoever had built this place hadn’t expected visitors or perhaps hadn't expected people to knock. 

As I reached for the curved handle, the wooden door swung open soundlessly as if pushed by an invisible force and I suspected it was magic but… the inside of the cottage was cuter than I’d expected. 

To the left was a living room where a fire crackled away in the fireplace, toasting the air with smells of burnt wood and filling the quiet with light sparks of dying ember. Bookshelves lined the walls next to the fireplace, stopped only by the large bay window where streamed through filling the small room with the glow of the midday. To my right was a narrow staircase, the steps dark and glossed but worn looking, the railing equally old. I could see the kitchen a bit inward.

“Hello?” I shouted. “Anyone home?” I looked around, marveling at the peace and quiet, so different from the thrum of activity on campus. 

I could get used to this, I thought as I walked up the stairs, legs still aching from the climb before. The second floor held three doors, two on one side and one on the other, a thin hallway separating them. In front of one door my luggage sat outside, as if marking that room as mine. I grabbed my luggage and opened the door leading into a small room large enough for just a bed and table. The table faced the only window in the room, and I crossed the carpeted space to peer out through the clear pane glass, which looked directly out into the forest.

I really could get used to this.

I laid down on top of the bed, the soft sheets smelling fresh like they’d just been washed, and the warmth of the sun caressed my face like a lover’s hand.

 I stretched feeling happy and content like a well fed cat and I thought it would be nice to just close my eyes for a moment but for just a moment…. 

I woke up to the darkness surrounding me, pierced only by the soft yellow moonlight peering in through the window, realizing that I was no longer alone in the house.