The room was dark the moment her eyes fluttered open.
The only light came faintly through the window, pale and distant.
She had fallen asleep after crying herself to exhaustion.
Her eyes burned still, her chest heavy in a way that would not ease.
Edmund had not come. Not once since he left.
A small frown touched her lips at the thought. If he had… perhaps she would have pleaded again. Pride be damned. She would have gone on her knees if it meant leaving this place.
She needed to leave.
For there was something about this place that did not sit right with her.
It was beautiful… undeniably so. Every corner, every surface, crafted to perfection. And yet… It felt wrong. As though it did not belong to this world at all.
Her gaze shifted. And there it was.
Her reflection, again.
Everywhere she looked, she was. Staring back at herself from polished surfaces and glass. The same hollow face. The same tired eyes.
She could not bear it. "I look pitiful…" she muttered faintly.
