Winter Swan

It was an unpleasant morning for Silje.

Her period started today, and she felt awful. The cramps were especially bad this time and her back was aching. On top of that, she realized that when she opened the window, it was a gloomy rainy day.

'A day like this… I don't want to go to school. I want to stay at home.'

Silje stayed in her warm bed and contemplated.

She was a strong person, but there still were days she couldn't bear to go to school. And today was one of those days. Her body ached and the weather was awful.

She didn't want to go to school.

But she must, right?

It wasn't like her to avoid hardships. She never backed away like a coward.

Listening to the sound of the rain, Silje got out of the bed bravely and started to get ready for school.

It was a miserable day, but at least her breakfast was great. It was her favorite. Salmon steak.

She felt a little better when she saw it. After treating Silje like a liar, Olga often felt guilty and made her something delicious as a way of showing her regret. Her adoptive mother was not an openly affectionate person, and this was her way of apologizing.

Silje enjoyed breakfast and said to her stern adoptive mother, "Thank you for the meal, Mother. It was lovely. I will see you after school."

Silje left the house and boarded the school bus.

When she entered her classroom, the kids surveyed her quietly.

'What is it now? Did something happen? Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised if something did.'

She always started her day at school like she was going to war, so this wasn't that unusual. Silje secretly studied her classmates to figure out if something was amiss, but it was useless. No one was tormenting her, so Silje just decided to ignore the bad vibe.

She could hear them murmuring amongst themselves, and it was the same when she went to eat lunch at the cafeteria. She saw Jamal and they greeted each other, and after lunch, Silje went to the gym for her next class.

It was better this way. Silje felt more comfortable being alone. When she was by herself, she could relax a little.

Before gym class started, she decided to take a break.

She opened the door and found the inside to be empty. It was very quiet and cold.

She sat down against the wall and huddled by herself. She imagined herself lying on a warm bed beside a hot fireplace. Dreaming of just resting in warmth made her feel much better.

Suddenly, she remembered Kail's storage room with the cozy fireplace and soft bed.

Now that she thought about it, it had been a long time since she last saw him.

'I don't have to see Kail anymore.'

At first she was glad, but nowadays, she couldn't help but think of him from time to time. It wasn't fear or disgust she felt when she thought of him, but it was a strangely warm and nostalgic feeling. She couldn't understand why.

'Kail…'

Dark hair, clear green eyes, crisp black cashmere coat, and his attractive scent…

She remembered his commanding voice telling her that she was his.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't forget his confession to her. Ironically, while he was the one who caused her so much agony, he was also the one who taught her the burning touch of another person.

The love she received from Kail, though misplaced and misguided, was intense. Not even her own adoptive parents showed affection like that.

She didn't want to remember him, but…

"I just want to have you. I don't understand why, but I want you."

The cruel king's confession.

However, Silje had to remember what he did to her. He sliced her wrist with his knife. He showed her how cold and empty a wintery night could be in Oslo. Her wrist started to throb again as if to remind her what kind of monster he really was.

'Let's stop thinking about him. It will only make me feel worse.'

Soon, the students started to show up in the gym one by one. Continuing on from the last class, another volleyball session was scheduled today. As usual, Silje went to a corner and started practicing tossing and spiking by herself.

Suddenly, she stopped when she heard someone screaming angrily at her.

"I hate that bitch!"

She should've paid more attention to her surroundings.

A volleyball flew at her and hit her shoulder hard. It was so unexpected that Silje stood still for a few seconds before shrugging her shoulders.

It had been a while since she was bullied, so she felt dumbfounded. She continued to stand still while the girls who threw the ball at her giggled from far away.

"I hate that girl!"

"I know! She is so annoying."

She had forgotten what it felt like to be treated this way.

Her shoulder started to ache from getting hit by the ball. She thought to herself quietly, 'I was an idiot for thinking that I would be safe now. I should've known the bullying was going to start again soon. How could I forget? Why did I forget?'

Silje sighed quietly.

She had no intention of giving up without a fight. Her eyes darkened dangerously as she decided to give it her best shot.

After tossing her ball high into the air, she spiked as hard as she could toward the girls, making them scream.

"Gyaaa!"

"Oh my god!"

Silje didn't stop with just one ball. She grabbed as many of them as possible from the floor as fast as she could and continued to spike them toward the girls. She was able to get their faces, shoulders, and legs very accurately.

"Oh no! Stop!"

"Aahhhh!"

The girls screamed and ran away from her. It was Silje's victory.

The mean girls started to cry and Silje finally stopped. She bounced the ball as she walked towards them in a leisurely manner.

Silje murmured, "You know you can't get me as a single person, so that is why you guys are ganging up on me like this? I will never lose if you fight me fair and square. Why? Because I will fight to the death."

The gym became silent when suddenly, a high-pitch laugh rang out.

"You still haven't learned your lesson. What should we do about that? Should we teach you a lesson you'll never forget?"

Giggling nastily was Brigit who was glaring at Silje while standing with her cheerleader friends nearby.

When their eyes met, Brigit said to Silje, "Oh, hello. It's SOOO nice to see you."