Natalie was depressed. It wasn’t a serious depression like clinical depression, but she had gotten into a rut where the world around her seemed grim and despairing. She was stuck. Stuck in her own phase, and she needed a reason to break free because she was unable to do it by herself. Usually Natalie was a firm believer of taking her own destiny in her own hands, but this depression she was battling nowadays was making her doubt even her firmest beliefs. Natalie was not just battling your usual teenage depression; she was suffering from a despairing heart and a family that disregarded her. After the death of her grandfather things had been estranged between her and her aunt, whom she had previously had a very close relationship with. She missed talking to her oddly weird and childish aunt, whom she had in the past always been able to ask for advice but whom she now felt awkward facing. In addition to this new isolation, Natalie was also hopelessly crushing on fellow classmate Toby. However, her adoration felt one-sided, and currently Natalie was beyond console for her unrequited affection. The young girl was wild on her hormones, and was taking it out on herself. 

The petite blonde spent her days hiding away somewhere with her partner in crime, Olivia, feigning usual teenage anxiety, or cooped up daydreaming in some remote corner of the castle. At the moment she was doing the latter. She had found herself a windowsill, wide enough to sit in, overlooking the grounds on this snowy, early March day. It was nearing tea time and the sky was transforming into a pale pink and opal scenery. Natalie sat with her legs up on the windowsill, half concealed by the heavy drapes, reading a book. It was quite the rare site to see Natalie with a book, but her teenage depression and heart ache had made her reach out to someone who had prior knowledge to said themes. A collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s work was being perused. There was something fascinating in the macabre he wrote, and it managed to console her, if only for a moment. 

Natalie sighed softly, closing the book but leaving one of her pale fingers between the covers to remember her current page. She was reading the Tell-Tale Heart and was pondering the meaning of the third eye when something happened that interrupted her trail of thoughts.