The day was June fourth, and this evening, my family would be hosting our annual ball, yet I was not in the castle as I should have been, rehearsing dances or getting ready for tonight.
I looked over at my mother.
Her knees were covered in fine linen, expensively dark like the thick waves of her hair, but she kneeled anyway on a hay mat while she snipped peony flowers. She collected them in a basket I had woven. She did not know I had created it. Secretly, I'd ordered a servant to give it to her because I had not known if she would accept something I gave her openly.
We spent every morning in this garden together. It had become my second favorite time of the day, the first being when I worked alongside my doctor. He was training me well for my upcoming exam.
