They said she had been cursed by her mother, who had died in childbirth. Her hair was silver-white, like the moon, and she was so sickly thin that it was no wonder than any movement, including sitting was painful. None of the king’s servants understood how she had managed to live passed infancy, and yet she was about to turn sixteen years old.
Anna sat with a mountain of pillows behind her back to keep her upright. There were some pillows beneath her calves, and a large book rested in her lap. Despite all of the body in her body, a small smile spread on her face as she read from the book. A tiny creature—a colorful little man with lepidopterous wings twice as long as his body—lounged on her shoulder, nestling against her neck and covered in her pale hair.
There was a tray of food and tea on the small table beside her bed. Anna grabbed a small plate of a half-eaten muffin. She tore off a small piece, and she dipped it in a small cup of honey.
“Lanny,” the girl said is a cheerful tone, “are you hungry yet?”
The little man of her shoulder opened his eyes, which were big, bright yellow orbs with no pupils. Stretching his limbs, he yawned.
“Anna, what’d you say?” he asked, slurring his speech.
“Are you ready for your honey?”
A wide grin spread on the little man’s face, exposing a mouth full of razor sharp teeth, and he licked his lips when he noticed the honey-covered muffin between her frail fingers. She held the muffin to him, and he opened his mouth so she could place it on his tongue. He made an appreciative noise as he ate it.
“Ah, that is exactly what I needed,” he said.
“It is the price for your healing magic,” Anna reminded him.
She rubbed his cheek with her finger, and he hummed in appreciation.
“Thank you, Lanny,” she said. “I would be long gone without you.”
“I’m just in it for the honey.”
Anna let out a chuckle, wishing she could burst into real laughter—the kind that came from the belly that she sometimes heard from her servants—but it was so painful to make even the subtle noise. She rubbed his cheek again, and she turned her attention back to the book in her lap. Lanny rubbed his full belly, and he settled back onto her shoulder, covering himself with her hair again.
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