Mark had been in the meeting room for quite a while, half his body sprawled across the table and his cheek resting on one arm.
He had come in convinced that Aria would be waiting for him with one of her urgent matters, but the room was empty.
Instead, one of the palace maids had met him at the door to explain that something very important had come up for Aria, that she was very sorry, and that he should please wait there, since she wouldn't be long.
The maid was a young beastwoman with a pair of small cinnamon-colored feathered wings on her back.
Her name was Tilly, she told him, though it took her three attempts to pronounce her own name correctly.
Mark hadn't seen anyone so nervous in a long time.
The girl couldn't look him in the eye. Her cheeks were flushed, her wings wouldn't stop fluttering behind her, and every time he asked her a question, however simple, she gave a little start before answering.
