The palace was quiet as the wind moved gently through the night.
The moon shined brightly in the dark sky, its silver light slipping through the large windows of Lydia's room.
The curtains danced softly with the breeze.
Everything around her looked peaceful.
Calm.
Beautiful.
But Lydia's heart was anything but calm.
Her room smelt fresh from the bath she had taken earlier.
Her long blonde hair was still damp, falling over her shoulders in soft waves as she sat on the bed with a book resting in her hands.
The candles beside her flickered quietly, lighting up the pages before her.
Yet she had not turned a single page in several minutes.
Her eyes remained on the book, but her mind was somewhere else entirely.
On him.
Ivan.
The thought alone made her chest tighten painfully.
She shut her eyes for a moment, trying to force his face from her mind, but it only made things worse.
The memories returned even clearer than before.
The garden.
