🦌


"Alright," said Julia as they shared each of their respective researche. Wren had read all about the topic: Why is the water in Devilson Maine different from the one on both Mounts? But Wren didn't stop there, not only because he already knew all about Mount Aphrodisiac and Mount Halston, but he also had limitted access to the external files. However he didn't pull that classified information out, afraid his father would find out.

"I found out that here we only have sailor water. Which is why it sometimes tastes a funny."

Wren smiled at Julia, she was so happy to find something so basic. Her positivity was contagious...but apparently some were immune to it. He looked at Ivy, who was wishfully looking at a picture of the ocean.
It was one of the only picture of  the external world they had. The Supremes and Reigns are extremely reserved on sharing information on the Outside, as we call it.

"I heard it's one of the prettiest places in the Outside," Wren said trying to include her in the conversation. "I think it's called Majorca, or something like that."

But that didn't seem to work as he expected, instead of the smile he would've liked to see on her face, she narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head.

Time went down slowly as they read extracts of books from the library. Wren read about the benefits of sailor water and how Supremes and Reigns brought sailor water to Devilson Maine. It was far from entertaining, he already knew all about this. His father made sure he and his brother had  a superior education to the other children of Devilson Maine to stay high up in the social status. Wendall Westerson even wanted to homeschool them but that would isolate them instead of enchanting the next generation to adore the Westersons.

Suddenly, Ivy nudged Wren's arm. At first taken aback by this unexpected action from her, he stared at her but then smiled as she started explaining something she'd never heard about.

"Look," she exclaimed running her finger around the paragraph she found important. "Here it says that sailor water was extracted from a canal back in somewhere in the Overland East."

The Overland is the part that's separated from the Outside by water. That water is told to be deadly: Once inside it will fill up your insides until your body is full of water and you suffocate to death falling in the darkness, and once you're dead the water brings your cadaver to the top. Only the Supremes and the Reigns had crossed it without dying and they're the only ones who can survive it.

"What?! Where does it say that?!" Questioned Julia putting herself in between of Wren and Ivy. She read the entire page, Ivy not showing her what was mostly  important. Wren crossed her gaze as she impatiently waited. He crooked his head slightly as Julia shot an undescret glance at him. When she got caught her face turned from her typical reddish peach to a bright tomato red. Ivy couldn't help giggling and Wren's face instantly lit up as he saw her usually hard features relax and brighten up.

Julia examined her and demanded what was her problem. Wren joined Ivy and together they left Julia in an awkward position of doubt. When she realized he was laughing she quickly changed expression and smiled fakelly asking what they were laughing about. They brushed her off and eventually went back to work. Wren didn't know Ivy had such sense of humor.

At the end of their studying time, they all walked out in the chilly night. They said their respective goodbyes and went their separate ways.

As Wren waited for his butler to pick him up, he realized Ivy was walking home. He ran up to her, wondering why she was walking. He asked her if someone was going to come for her.

"Don't you know I live at the Orphanage? There no one cares enough to come over." She replied with, was that pain he read on her face? Nevertheless she brushed that away and looked up at the moon.

"Well, you should still get a ride: Orphanage or not. It's not fair."

Ivy shook her head and sighed.
"Like you know what's fair or not…"

Wren was surprised by her harsh tone. Perhaps he lived in a manoir but that didn't prevent him for knowing what was right and wrong. What she said wasn't fair. Even so, he kept his thoughts to himself, afraid to get her mad again.

The wind blew, it was cold. He saw Ivy shiver, she was still wearing her school uniform: A floral green dress. Wren stated: "Winter is coming."



                              🦋


There, in the ice and snow laid a young magnificent girl. Her eyes were closed and snowflakes fell on her eyelashes. Her angelic face was as white as the ground around her. Her long, curly blond hair flourishing around her face.

The clothes she had on were drenched by the snow however it didn't seem to bother her. She had only a blue floral dress, a small cardigan and laced up boots to her higher calves. And she stayed there, peacefully sleeping until a young man approached.

The boy was shocked: How was this person here? What happened to her? Is she alive?

He ran towards her, the snow taking shape of his big mountain boots. Mountain boots made out of a fabric not many knew of, fabric warm and immune to the cold. 

"Hey!" He yelled as he put his freezing gloved hands on her cheeks. But she didn't budge. "Hey, you need to wake up!"

She didn't react. The boy realized he had to do something fast if he didn't want her death on his mind.

So, he picked her up and ran as fast as he could to his manoir. The house was empty, if there were someone he would've had to let her freeze to death.

He brought her up to his bedroom and looked the door behind him.

What he had to do next might come back against him, but with those wet clothes on she wouldn't get any better. So he took off her blue flowery dress and placed it to dry. He left her soaked undergarments, knowing how uneasy it would be if he took them off. He found some of his warmest clothing and set it close to the fire so it would be cozy when she would wake, if she would.

He continued to heal her, laying her down on his couch near his fireplace. The fire started instantly, throwing warm heat waves all over her icy body. But the boy needed to heat her insides up so he prepared some boiling rare Aphrodisiac herbal infusion.

And he stayed there next to this stranger for hours long, occasionally getting the fire started again and heating up the tea. He worried about what he would ask her, what her reaction would be. But throughout his doubts he waited until her gray eyes fluttered open with a lost look on her face.


                               🦂


"Ohh, you've chopped your hair off." Winn remarked, realizing how different she looked as she stormed in his bedroom. Ashlyn's features were now much sharper and she seemed far older. Whoa, Winn didn't know he knew her face that well to see all the differences this simple haircut made. This could mean it was time to change girlfriend...they had been together for quite a while.

Winn still remembers how they started dating: They had always been in the same group of friends but he never thought of her as a potential girlfriend. They'd kissed several times though they always brushed it away, with Winn's constantly changing girlfriends and Ashlyn's ex-boyfriend, Nathaniel, it would be too complicated.

But last year, at the beginning of Summer they had each broken up with their last mates. Ashlyn was devastated, her relationship with Nathaniel was very valuable to her. Of course, people grow and when they do they change. Ashlyn Thompson came from a pretty important family who held the town's finance for centuries and then there was Nathaniel Ward was from a divorced family with a mother who worked as servant in the one of the Landcasters household.

And sometimes the differences are too present and they ended up steering away from each other. So instead of partying and having much Ashlyn and Winn were sitting, all alone and depressed and that's how a wonderful love story started. She was different from the other girls, many of them wanted gifts or a temporary popularity, but since she already had that in excess she and Winn got along perfectly.

Even so, he felt like he had to keep up with her expectations of this strong mean boy who somehow fell in love with this fearful princess. It was exhausting to always come to her rescue and support her all the time, afraid she'd pick a fit otherwise.

But she still was one of the best bachelorettes in town, so it was what it was. He'd have to deal with it.


"Well," Ashlyn said leaning towards him. Her ,now, short brown hair sticking up in different different directions. Right then, she awfully reminded Winn of a dorky elf his parents would hire during the winter holidays. "Do you like it?"

"I mean, now there's nothing in the way…" He whispered pulling her closer and kissing her.

One truly remarkable thing about Ashlyn was that she didn't care about sex. She would have it whenever and wherever, she didn't need to have sex every time but she didn't mind, so that was a big plus.

They kissed until their lips were numb and eventually went on to lower parts of their bodies. Winn had to admit: Ashlyn looked much stronger and older with her new hair. She had a way with seducing him each time they did something, intimate or public. He didn't know if what he felt was love, but he had never had a relationship like this.

All of a sudden there was a knock on the door. Startled, Winn grabbed Ashlyn'd shirt and threw it to her and they rushed out of bed.

Ashlyn had barely finished pulling down her shirt when Autumn Westerson opened the door.

A fake smile took over her face as she greeted Ashlyn. Autumn followed her husband: if he didn't like someone, than neither did she and vice versa. She also grew up in an ideal family and simply applied what she had grown up with.

"Winn, honey, your father and I have to talk with you." Autumn's eyes trailed around the room looking for some underwear or a bra and finally settled on Ashlyn. She gave her an apologetic smile, which meant "get out". Ashlyn understood and having not much of a choice, invented a dumb excuse and kissed Winn lightly on the lips and left.

"Come on," His mother ordered as she marched down the long dark hallway. Winn felt like his house came straight out of some forbidden horror stories that children would say back when he was younger. Wren and Winn didn't seem to care but once the darkness came, everything in his mind changed. The piles of books turned into some imaginary monster, the closet door always found a way to open up at night and his biggest fear of all: having the Eucalyptus creep up on him in his dreams.

Winn sighed at the distant scary memories but his mother, misunderstanding, remarked that that wasn't a great move, especially now that they were getting closer to Wendall Westerson's study.

Winn had no idea what this was about, but it must've been something big because no one is allowed in his office. That is due to the need of privacy, apparently it's where all the documents of the outside world. Only a handful of people can go inside and even though Wren and Winn have gone in there a few times, they are now strictly forbidden.

Autumn knocked on the door, looked shut from the inside. His father had once told Wren and Winn that this key had five copies: one for him, one for the mayor, one for the Supremes, another for the Reigns and no one knows where the last one is.

"Winn, Autumn. Come in." His father said, sitting at his nicely organized desk. In the office there was nothing indicating that this actually held all the information to the Outside. "I have found your calling, and the Supremes and Reigns have given me their blessing."

Winn started to worry, this couldn't be good: Wren already had his calling, the best one possible. What was possibly left for Winn? Wendall always found certain ways to mess up his youngest son's life.

"You will be an Acies." Wendall stated with a proud smile.