The Majestic
2 Autumn, one day after Ethan and Vanja meet
It’s evening, of the same day that Vanja originally arrived at the Majestic. She’s been assigned a room, on the ground floor, which she prefers. The buildings are tall in the city, and Vanja doesn’t trust how this one has settled into itself - the bricks and timbers blown out like a collapsing cake. The room is close to the kitchen, too, where she will have easy access to boiled water. She can purify water herself, of course, with River magic, but she didn’t tell the Madam this.
She’s got to be much more cautious now.
In her room, Vanja sits at the small side table. There is a basin of water here, and a jug, and a good-sized looking glass, warped slightly, blackened with age - common in a place like this, where looks could affect business.
In the glass, Vanja looks at herself. She is still covered in blood.
Vanja pours water from the jug into the basin, and wets a cloth. She cleans her face, first, wiping away the streaks left from when Ethan had hastily washed her face in the alley. That had only been this morning, but she has grown since then. Learned that lesson. Now it seems like a story that Vanja heard. Like something that happened to a different girl.
She unplaits her hair. The blood here is still wet. Staining her reddish hair dark.
Vanja runs her fingers through her hair, trying to comb through the tangles, working her fingers through where the hair has been matted by the Swan’s blood. She gives up, leans over the basin and pours a generous amount of water from the pitcher directly over her head, allowing it to pool in the basin. Vanja watches as the blood leaves her hair, curling out into the water. She sees the color shift, and for just a moment her breath catches, remembering the Swan in her face, her braid in his hand. How he’d seen past the magic of her cloak.
Vanja sits up, and pushes her hair back. She wets the cloth again, wringing it into the basin. Watching as it’s stained pink by the blood in the water.
Bringing the cloth to her face again, Vanja notices her hand is shaking.
Oh.
She’s in shock.
Episode navigation
Previous
Previous:
Vanja, Meet EthanNext
Back to: