***
—The City of Saint Claret—
—The Black Manor—
It was midday and a woman stood at the balcony of one of the topmost rooms in the Manor. Her hands rested on the black stone railing as her green eyes stared off far into the distance while her grayish-white hair swayed in the breeze.
Yelena's lips were pursed and the longer she gripped the railing, the tighter she held on to the point where her knuckles were turning white.
The sounds of footsteps coming from behind didn't cause her to turn. She knew who it was anyway. It was a servant girl 'meant to see to her every need' in this unfamiliar home she had found herself and found it difficult, no, impossible, to leave.
"My lady," the servant girl called gently, "Lord Aleric has invited you to the hall."
After speaking, the Servant girl went silent for a few minutes before bowing,
