Chapter 41 They Are My People

• Princess Elowen Starfire.
• The sky was still dark when the sound of the carriage wheels echoed through the stone courtyard. The mist enveloped the castle like a veil, blanketing the landscape in the almost clear silence of early morning. It wasn't yet six in the morning; not even the birds had the courage to sing at that time, and perhaps it was just as well. Silence went well with cold goodbyes.
• I put on my dark blue cloak with silver details—the same elven designs my mother used to embroider on my clothes as a child. A small gesture of remembrance, or perhaps of strength—well, now I needed both. The fabric covered my arms and shoulders, but it couldn't protect my chest from the emptiness that was growing there.