Certainly Niro’s assumptions about his sister’s morning task had been accurate. The girl had stayed up late into the night positively glowing with the success of their long and arduous journey. Even after the pair had been given separate rooms side-by-side and the glorious King and the admirable lady Firefly had departed (much to Orin’s dismay), the exertion of their travels could not overtake her and coax her into dreamland. Reeling in the feeling of pride and the excitement of actually meeting the man… the king!... from the stories she had read, she found the thought of lying down and going to sleep excruciating. Unfortunately, since she had to pack light for the journey with her brother and they had only been here barely more than a day, she had no books to bury herself in save for her own journal. For a moment she contemplated exploring the Chien Hotel and seeing if she could find any literature, but decided against the idea of wandering the halls late at night on her first day in Cour Des Miracles. Someone might get the wrong idea… though certainly it would not be long until one of Orin’s adventures and her wild imagination would draw her out at some ungodly hour, but hopefully for the girl’s sake that would be after she got to know some more members of the pack.
So instead of wandering the halls or insisting that the King or Firefly or Niro stay with her, now that everyone was exhausted from the day, she set up her meager but priceless possessions on the small, dusty desk, made quick work of cleaning off the desk and other furniture (though the bed linens and most of the rest of the room had recently had a good cleaning), and set to work reviewing the great adventure that her journal chronicled. It wasn’t long before her heavy lids began to work against her, and the girl slumped over in her chair as she dozed.
Strands of light pierced through the window’s plantation shutters, and as the sun slowly crept above the horizon the inviting sun meandered along the floor and soon cast across Orin’s face and gently coaxed her back to consciousness. She awoke with a cramp in her neck and side from the funny way she had fallen asleep, but otherwise felt splendid and renewed. She blinked as her honeyed eyes adjusted to the morning’s sunlight, then peered out the window for a moment before realizing that she must log this glorious morning in her diary! She jerked upright and grabbed her pen, flipped to the next blank page of her diary (this book would be full, soon!), and began scratching down her thoughts. She didn’t stop writing until a sudden thump thump thump! penetrated the silence and made her jump out of her fur. She whipped around in the chair to glare at the entrance as Niro flew through the doorway and snatched the pen from her delicate fingers. “Niro! Look what you made me do!” She huffed her exasperation as she held up her journal to display a bold, jagged line drawn across half the page.
“What are you on about now?” She muttered, as though it were Niro who always went on about daydreams and whimsical tales, rather than herself. She watched him go to the window and unbolt the shutters, and her jaw went slack. “Wow…” She stood and moved to her brother’s side at the window and gazed out at the stunning winter scene. “It’s… beautiful.”
“Last one there sleeps in the doghouse tonight!” She cried, accompanied by that childish giggle of hers as she shoved Niro away from the window towards the bed, spun around, and made a mad dash for the door. She had forgotten the sheepskin cloak that she had donned for all their trip, which was no concern. She only wore it to keep the rain off of her skin, but her arctic fur was well bred to keep her safe from the snow’s ravaging chill.
She bounded down the stairs taking them two and three at a time, laughing and listening for Niro’s pursuit. She didn’t stop to see if anyone was around in the common hall as she bolted for the door and flung herself outside into the snow-kissed world.
The second she was at the doorstep, her foot slipped on the slick, icy step, and her legs went out from under her. Luckily, her forward momentum sent her landing on the ground below, not on the step itself, and she was unhurt. She lay where she landed, laughing like a pup, and waited for her brother to discover her.