It feels wonderful to start writing again.

Disclaimer: Most of these characters are not mine. They belong to Hima-Papa.

She was cold.

It was always so cold: It had been so long since she felt warm. So long since she felt alive. But here she was now, freezing in a prison cell. And that's how it would be for the rest of her eternity.

Her eyes widened when she heard the sound of metal clanking. The was being unlocked at last! She shot up from her spot on the floor over the sole heating vent in the room. The girl began to fuss with her snow white hair, tying a faded blue ribbon in her hair. She lightly brushed her fingers across the tattered lace. Memories from a time long ago flashed in her mind. She quickly brushed them aside. It wouldn't do good to reminisce now. Smoothing out the edges of her dress, she sat down on a small stool the center of the cell. The pale girl tried to pretend she hadn't just been huddled in corner, crying for warmth.

The door opened and a young, pretty nurse wheeled in a small plastic cart. After closing the door, she glanced down at her chart and plastered a bright smile onto her face. "Hello Natalia! How are we today?"

Despite the nurse's friendliness, Natalia couldn't bring herself to smile back at the woman and return her warmth. Natalia knew how this worked: a new nurse would come in, hoping to make the lives of the Oblitus* easier. But soon after arriving, they'd become cold and harsh towards the inmates. Natalia didn't care to watch her downfall from grace.

However, Natalia had nothing against answering their questions. She didn't like being rude; she was raised better than that. Besides, she had to answer them. She knew that if she didn't talk then the nurse would have to tell the "doctors". They were trained to do so, for the safety of both staff and Oblitus alike. The Oblitus who refused to talk would end up speaking one way or another. "I'm fine," Natalia croaked out. Her voice sounded so foreign to her. It had been quite a while since she had last talked.

The nurse beamed, happy to get an answer. "Fantastic!" Moving closer to Natalia, she picked up various shots, already prepared. "Now behave, little one. Otherwise no breakfast today."

Natalia almost rolled her eyes at that. Almost. Natalia had been there for twelve years. She knew the procedure by heart. And, though she would never admit to anyone there, being called little one, child, girl, etc. bothered her. She was 17 for God's sake! She wasn't overly fond of being called pet names like dear, love, etc. There were two people alive(?) on this Earth that Natalia would allow to call her such things. But God only knows where they were.

The nurse carefully lifted up the sleeves of Natalia's dress. She picked up the first shot and checked Natalia for any signs of distress. The girl sat there looking bored. The nurse almost sighed with relief before she remembered that Natalia was Oblitus. They were known to take advantage of any possible sign of weakness, so the nurse had to be careful.

While the nurse began to give the shots, Natalia closed her eyes and began to daydream. She thought of beautiful clear blue skies, wide open fields of grass, and the occasional bunch of flowers that dotted them. She thought of beautifully embroidered dress, every so carefully stitched with love, and the warm breezes that blew the hems. Warm breezes that would run across the steppes with ease. Warm breezes that would run through her soft hair, messing it up. Her doting older sister Katyusha laughing as she pinned back Natalia's hair to keep the breezes from messing it up. Katyusha would later shake her head when the pins would fall from her younger sister's hair. She'd smile and say, "I guess your hair is just meant to be free like the wind." Despite this, Natalia would still insist on Katyusha pinning it back. She used to love it when Katyusha would tie ribbons in her hair, always managing to find the perfect one to match Natalia's dress. Natalia wished she had told Katyusha that. She wished she had told Katyusha how much she loved and appreciated her. Natalia felt a sharp pain in her chest as she thought of her sister. Her kind and beautiful older sister. Where was she now? Did she have enough to eat? What did she look like now? It had been twelve years since Natalia saw Katyusha last. Katyusha had been ten years old. She'd be twenty-two next week.

"Everything okay, dear?" the nurse interrupted Natalia from her thoughts. Upon seeing her confusion, the nurse quickly explained. "Your heartbeat accelerated for a moment there." She glanced up at the small barred window, now covered in ice.

"I was thinking of food," Natalia lied. She hid her face behind her hair in feigned embarrassment.

The nurse giggled, "Well, now that we're through with everything, you can have your food." She handed Natalia a tray covered with an array of food. Since Natalia behaved, she was able to get good food. Today's meal was hot soup, a bread roll, crackers, tea, and a slice of chocolate cake. The Oblitus were only given two meals a day, so generally they always had a lot on their tray.

"Thank you," Natalia dipped her head. The nurse beamed, said goodbye, and left. The large metal door shut loudly, leaving the girl to her thoughts.

Natalia stood up and set her food down on the stool. She carefully picked up the stool and carried it over to the heating vent. Sitting down right on top of said vent, she pulled it closer and started eating.

As Natalia ate her food, she thought more and more of Katyusha. Where was she? Were her abilities being put to use? Was she rotting alone in a cold cell like Natalia and their brother, Ivan? Did she escape? Natalia shook her head at that. Katyusha was strong, but she was also a crybaby. And besides, she was too kind for her own good; she could never harm or trick the guards into escaping.

'But you could,' Natalia subconsciously thought. She entertained herself with the thought. Freedom. Such a beautiful and uplifting word. Such a mysterious and forbidden term. Freedom. The thought of it sent shivers down Natalia's spine. She yearned for it. Craved it with all her being. Natalia dreamed of it. Freedom fueled her subconscious thoughts. She wanted it so much.

Ice slowly spread across the room as Natalia's heartbeat sped up. Normally she'd stop herself; the pale girl had been able to control it ever since she was little. But today she let it spread. Today Natalia left herself feel every crack and crevice around the room with her ice. Let herself feel the walls. Her eyes widened as she realized how thin they actually were. She spread her ice to the window. The glass was thick, yet easily breakable. The bars would be harder, but not impossible.

Looking around her small cell, her gaze locked onto the door. For the first time in forever, she felt a small sliver of hope. As Natalia brought the cake to her lips, one thing was very apparent in her mind: she was getting out.

*Oblitus is latin for Forgotten. There'll be more information on this world in the next chapter.

So I'm in high school now and it's really fun. I have a lot of homework with debate, but I generally write in algebra. :) I can't promise a regular updating schedule, but Wednesdays sound pretty good. I've already started the second chapter.

Have a lovely day~