It's difficult to recall a time when the winds that swirl around the village weren't carried by ash. Sola pulls her cloak tighter around her shivering body and buries her nose deeper into the fabric, trying to absorb as much heat as the chilling breeze would allow. Her very bones are turning to ice and she mutters a curse as a particularly strong gust slices through her cloak and earns her a mouthful of ash.

She spits onto the dirt and starts to cough violently, hacking as if she's intent on spitting up her lungs and her stomach threatens to heave up the little food she had for breakfast that morning. Sweat pearls on her neck and her skin suddenly feels overheated despite the cold and she inhales deeply, remembering Ria's words whenever either of them got worked up like this.

Petite brown boots enter her line of sight from her hunched over position and a hand finds the small of her back.

"Sola, are you alright? Do you feel ill?"

She looks up into a face framed by chestnut hair and caramel eyes, brows stitched together in worry. Sola lets out a breathy laugh and lays a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Don't look so worried, Ria. It doesn't suit you."

Ria smiles thinly before it disappears altogether as she helps the older girl to her feet.

"I was on my way to come see you when I saw you coughing. Are you sure you're alright?"

She nods slowly and smooths out the wrinkles in her dress, taking care to fix her appearance as to not look like she was about to collapse from the fit.

"Ash." she says simply through dry lips, "do you have a drink?"

Ria's eyes widen in horror, recognition flooding her features and she makes a sound of confirmation before she reaches into her leather pouch and produces a canteen, offering it to her with an outstretched hand.

She drinks greedily, washing away the chalky taste with large gulps. The water tastes stale and coppery. No doubt water Ria had fetched from the well now that the rivers had been polluted with the soot as well, therefore unfit to drink.

It all began after the Contagion ravaged through the kingdom, and evidently the whole country at the turn of the century. What was reported as a simple flu manifested into something much more sinister as countless civilians fell prey to this unknown sickness. Victims complained of fever-like symptoms and a bad cough, only to drop dead days later with a trademark red rash encircling the neck.

As the body count rose, so did hysteria. Hospitals and nursing institutions became overrun as the mortality rate soared, claiming the lives of more than one third of the population. With so many bodies and not enough ground space to bury them in, it was declared more efficient to burn them instead, and mass bonfires became a regular occurrence. The stink of rot and wood still cling to the empire; it's even rumored that the dark clouds that roll over the valleys are a product of the overwhelming smoke and ash.

It didn't exactly sit well with Sola that she had almost ingested human remains.

She falls in step beside Ria as the two ascend the crest of the hill and onto the cobblestone road to town. Shoulder to shoulder they walk, exchanging conversation of harvest and health, or lack thereof. Famine is on the rise. The Contagion wiped out crops in addition to human life, leaving survivors wishing they had been taken by the illness instead of enduring slow, raw starvation.

"This empire is cursed. Let it burn to the ground." Ria scoffs and punctuates her point by kicking a clump of ash that crunches beneath her boot, "I hear Her Royal Highness is served three square meals a day in addition to her afternoon tea and supper," she adds the last part with a pompous wave of her hand, raising the pitch of her voice to mimic the airy tone of an aristocrat, "when are we going to get some real food? I'm tired of gruel."

This question is directly for Sola, whose lips purse into a thin line at the inquiry.

Being the elder of the two, she had automatically assumed responsibility for her friend after both girls had lost their families to the Contagion. Taking up an apprenticeship as a seamstress, she had worked hard to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. But that was before the empire's food source had been destroyed and Sola was having trouble finding work since the tailor had his own family to feed. No work meant no money and no money meant no food.

Her heart twists at Ria's words. Ria knows she's doing her absolute best given the circumstances, but her absolute best isn't showing results and Sola can't help but feel weak. She wants nothing more than to give her a feast, hell, a meal, but the cards they had been dealt meant going to bed hungry no matter how hard she tried.

An idea suddenly pops in her head.

"If you could eat anything right now, what would it be?"

Ria slows down her pace to look at Sola.

"What?"

"You heard me. Anything in the whole wide kingdom in your belly. What is it?"

Ria grins with a childlike glee as her imagination starts to conjure up ideas and Sola can't help but mirror the action.

"Anything?"

"Quit stalling and out with it!"

Ria hums in thought and her smile widens.

"Beef stew. The kind that's been slow cooked for the whole day so that the instant you put it in your mouth, it falls right off the bone and melts over your tongue."

Sola groans at the thought, which encourages her to continue as her words tumble faster and faster with excitement.

"The juice and grease dribble down your chin and before you have time to wipe it away, you follow it with a spoonful of potatoes just as freshly baked bread comes out of the oven. It's warm and crispy on the outside, fluffy and hot on the inside and you dip it into the stew and-"

"Ria"

Sola is practically panting from the mental image, her stomach erupting in a fit of growls.

"Sorry," Ria squeaks with a sheepish grin.

The market square is rather busy at this time of day and the girls have to worm their way through the crowd to their respective stations; Sola to her vending stall and Ria to the village fountain. It was fruitless work, no one wanted tailored shoes or freshly washed clothes when there are more important things to worry about. Still, they put on their best smiles and call out their services to the townspeople. By late evening, the square is bustling, though none have spared a second glance to Sola. Her spirits fall.

"Any luck?" she anxiously asks Ria after packing up her things. Ria opens her palm to reveal several polished coins that catch the sunlight.

"Just as I suspected, the rivers are too contaminated for laundry. I had lots of takers." Sola giggles with relief and grabs her by the shoulders to kiss her forehead. Tonight, they'll sleep with full stomachs.

A man suddenly stumbles into Ria from behind, muttering an apology before slipping back into the flow of the crowd. Ria shoots a pointed look in his direction and cradles the money against her chest.

"Why is it so busy today? Usually everyone is too afraid to come outside.."

"Are you seriously going to complain about that when we have money, Ria?"

Sola feels weightless, her entire body buzzing with pure joy and she laughs lightly, "we can buy food, we'll be able to eat!"

She gently takes Ria's hand and removes a few coins and leaves the rest for the younger girl.

"Here, I'll go and buy bread and you go and get the heaviest sack of potatoes you can carry, understand?"

Ria nods, biting her lower lip to contain her excitement.

"Okay. Meet you back in front of the fountain at the end of the hour."

"Of course."

They separate ways and Sola practically skips down the dirt road towards the bakery, her steps barely touching the ground. She's so absorbed in her own little bubble of merriment that she doesn't even notice the figure emerging from the alleyway until they collide with an audible bump.

"Good evening, sir," she hastily apologizes with a curtsey, "I did not see you, forgive me-"

her words clog in when she raises her eyes and notices the man's strange attire.

Long, flowing black robes that brush over dark boots and a silk top hat adorns his head. But the thing that makes her pulse hammer in her chest is the haunting mask that sits upon his face, a bone white thing with bird-like features. A long beak extends from it, no doubt to stuff with flowers and herbs to block out the stench when tending to the dying.

A Contagion doctor.

"You look afraid, miss." his voice seems to echo from afar, a strange calmness laced within it, "then again, many are. These are dark times for our country."

He takes a step forward and Sola finds herself moving one back, a slow uneasiness diffusing through her bones.

"Those who are wise are taking up protection. Luckily, I can offer it to you."

"I'm not interested," she says softly as the Doctor takes another step toward her. A shiver runs up her spine.

"Don't be scared, I'm not going to hurt you, little bird," he soothes in a honeyed tone and she can imagine him smirking behind that horrible mask. A gloved hand comes to trace her jaw, brushing back a stray lock of brown hair.

"Look at me,"

Sola can't help but obey, a dismal mood suddenly descending upon her mind as she does so and her body feels hazy and heavy.

"That's a good girl,"

His voice sounds farther and farther away, like it's reverberating inside a deep well. An insistent scream echoes within her but it's too muffled to comprehend the words.

"Take this," commands the Doctor, his voice suddenly clear as day and dangles a velvet pouch in front of her eyes. Sola nods, holding out her hand before the pouch is dropped onto her palm.

"May you live the rest of your days with good health and good fortune," she hears him murmur before he disappears with a swish of his robes.

She can't remember how long she's been standing there, still frozen in that position with her hand outstretched when the loud toll of the clock tower announcing the end of the hour jolts her back to the present. Sola glances down at the pouch in her hand, curiosity overcoming her senses and she quickly unfastens the ties to reveal fresh posies and some foreign looking herbs.

The pouch is pocketed when she remembers the task she had been assigned and frantically searches herself for the money, a strangled cry falling from her lips as she comes up empty handed.

She curses loudly for being seduced out of her coin and rakes her hands through her hair. Guilt and anger burn in her chest as she paces back and forth. Ria is probably waiting for her now and wondering where she is. No, Sola can't go back empty handed, not after making a promise to her. She brushes away her frustrated tears and turns on her heel, kicking up dirt in her wake as she rushes to make amends.

A/N: Guess who's back! I can't believe I haven't updated this story since the summer O_O Anyways, I have so much planned so please stay tuned for what's to come! Sub for vampire vixx ;) 

xoxo S