I'm on edge when I open my eyes to the familiar ceiling of my room. Something gnaws away at my heart, but I'm not quite sure what. Is it nervousness or apprehension? I know I have no reason to be afraid if I play the cards in my hand right, but the same unfamiliarity of the fateful day I was brought to the palace echoes through my mind. I had thought I was being smart and stayed out of sight, but a sudden illness had dragged me into the crosshairs of the royal guard. Then just when I had thought I had what it took to fight the empress, D-Day came and I was accused as a criminal and estranged from my only ally, the duchess.
"Bad dreams?" Marie asks, using a soft towel to dry my wet hair.
