Cordelia winced as the glimmering sun filled the room, devouring any dark that was there. She groaned in exasperation and pulled her quilt over her head. Too early. She thought, burying her face into her pillow. Too early…

“Oh, no you don’t!” A sharp voice said. Two hands grabbed hold of the ends of the quilt and ripped it off of her body. Cordelia shivered as the cool air fell over her, causing goose flesh to prickle upon her skin.

“Get up! It’s nearly eight!” The voice shouted.

Cordelia buried her face further into her pillow, determined to fall back asleep.

“Foolish girl! Get up!”

The hands that had taken away her quilt latched onto Cordelia’s ankles and began to pull her off the bed. Cordelia dug her nails into the mattress, hoping that would do something, but to her despair, it didn’t. Instead, she braced herself right as she came crashing down upon the hardwood floor. 

As she landed, she felt hands hoist her up to her feet. 

“Now, get ready. We’ve got lots to do in little time!” 

“It’s too early…” Cordelia said with a sigh.

She rubbed her eyes and looked at the woman before her. Emryn. Her lifelong mentor and guardian. Emryn had raised Cordelia since she was but a babe. She had graciously taken her in when she had found the screaming child abandoned in the woods and had raised her as her own. As Cordelia stared at her mentor now, she realized that she hadn’t changed one bit after all these years. As Cordelia had grown and matured, Emryn had stayed the same, except for a few minor details. Her dark hair as usual was tied up in a top knot, though Cordelia did notice the silver hairs shimmering from her roots. She wore her usual attire: a silk black robe with a loose dark gray dress that came down to her shins. Upon her face was the same unimpressed look as always. The frown lines were deep from the years of scowling, and faint wrinkles lined her forehead. 

“We have chores we need to get done. So get your lazy butt out of bed and come downstairs!” Cordelia could hear Emryn walking down the stairs. She turned over and looked up at the cobweb-strung ceiling, before pushing herself to climb out of bed. She winced as her feet hit the cold wooden floors, and made her way over to the dresser.