Called by the Duke of North

6) It's freezing

I took a few breaths to get rid of the queasy uneasiness spreading in my body, the spoon lingering in my fingers above the half-eaten plate of soup, before I allowed myself to take another spoonful. It didn’t taste as good as before, mainly because the room had grown much colder. And I could almost swear the soup was icy-cold, if not even freezing where it was touching the plate.

“Fine, fine, I will. Enjoy the rest of your breakfast, whoever can still eat.” Theo dropped the leftover bun bread down to his almost empty plate, making the plate ring as something hard hit it. Then he got up and silently left and closed the double-winged heavy doors with a lot of force.

I didn’t dare eat the cold soup anymore as goosebumps all over my body told me I was now feeling very cold, my muscles already slightly shivering.

Damian stayed silent. He also didn’t touch the food anymore. Even having ice-cream would feel warmer than this soup. The fireplace behind Damian’s chair didn't almost emit any warmth, either. We were stuck in a freezer.

“Apologies, we were supposed to talk but it has to be quite inconvenient for you in this temperature.” The sudden sound of his voice made me jolt in the chair.

“Let us move to a sitting room, where we can have some warm tea instead.” I could swear the soup was now frozen solid.

“Or is it that you…”

“No, I have no other plans. After all, I just arrived here a few days ago. What day is it today, anyway? People who have been sleeping for quite a while get lost in the count sometimes.” I needed some more information about this place. I needed to know if this was a dream or reality and perhaps settling down on a date would confirm my suspicions.

“Oh, right, yes, it’s Tuesday.” That didn’t exactly answer my question, though the slight confusion on his face told me he had no idea why I would be asking that.

“And… the date?” I tried hinting at the answer I was expecting instead, hoping he would take the hint and answer me properly.

“Fourth of December. You can check the newspaper if you want to cross-check the information.” Fourth. Of. December. Fourth of. December. Fourth of December. What year? It cannot possibly be 2024. This type of place wouldn’t even exist in 2024. Did I get pushed into the past in my dream? This couldn’t be real. When I was awake, it was the 23rd of December, the day before the Christmas celebrations would finally begin.

Perhaps because of the confusion building in my face, he handed me the big newspaper which almost nobody read in the real world anymore. I extended my hand to take the big piece of foldable paper from him. But I pulled away quickly. His fingers that touched mine were so warm. While I was freezing.

“Let us move immediately to a warmer room. Now.” Damian’s request sounded more like a soft command. To show me he truly meant it, he got up from the table and my body followed suit. I desperately needed to get out of this room, my teeth already chattering.

He kept the newspaper in his hand as he led the way out of the room. He went towards the big entrance space and into another double-winged door, which looked a bit more formal than the ones we had just exited. The warmth of the fireplace breathed into my face just as I stepped across the threshold. It was so toasty. Exactly what my body needed. This warmth melted the imaginable icicles hanging from some of the thrills on my dress.

Damian was already sitting as he motioned for me to take a seat on the sofa across from him. “Please.”

So I sat down. He silently poured a cup of black tea into my mug, and then into his.

“Milk?” Such a simple question to ask, yet it made me feel like he couldn’t care less.

“Yes, please.” I pushed the warm cup closer to him as he was already holding the Creamer filled with steaming hot milk. He poured it slowly, waiting for me to stop him, then he pushed the cup closer to me, adding the milk to his tea and a lump of sugar with it.

I picked up the cup with the saucer and sipped the tea, almost burning my tongue.

Damian had to notice my wince as his eyes started studying my face more eagerly, yet his face was still as cold as ice. If he played poker with that face of his, he would most definitely win with his deception against the others.

“You can find the newspaper date here in the upper right corner.” He pointed to the date printed there. Truly, it said fourth of December, but the year didn’t sit right. It wasn’t 2024, it wasn’t even the nineteenth century or in which this era could be set in my dream. The year showed clear numbers of 58. During the year 58 AD there was what… the Roman Empire in Europe? Tribes fighting in the middle of it? Monkies? Just how twisted my mind was to make me dream of the year 58 AD?

I blinked a few times, still hovering above the newspaper, staring at the date printed there. I shook my head as I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, it was complete nonsense. I smiled, feeling the corners of my mouth twitching up as I tried to stifle the laugh that wanted to escape my throat. This was purely ridiculous.

“So, you still do not believe that this is real.” I almost choked on the tea as Damian spoke again, as he was keeping completely still and quiet, almost not touching his tea.

“And how else would you explain this isn’t a dream?” I snickered. Even though I could say he might have been taken aback, his face didn’t let any emotions slip to the surface.

He gracefully set down the saucer and the cup on top of it without making any sound and looked at me with all seriousness, answering, though a bit unsurely: “Because it isn’t?”