ANNE:
I rode out of the Kristala with half a dozen of my uncle Fernard Sabine's guards. The idea was to ride to the south east, and reach Dawn Bastion, the castle of the Sabine house, and take shelter there, until I knew who would be the winner of the northern war.
It would be about four days of travel. We would camp in the open air and not visit any towns. It was dangerous for us to be seen by others.
As we traveled, I touched my belly and wondered if I would love that child after he was born.
In fact…I wondered if I had ever loved anyone. I assumed that I loved myself and my mother... but I didn't remember loving anyone else. Not even my dead father. Not even my uncle.
When I was ten years old and my father was still alive, I became infatuated with the son of the butler of Dawn Bastion.
