The Quiet Crown - Part 2
Evening settled like a slow breath. The torches around the square burned low, painting long ribbons of amber on the walls. Wolves drifted home in pairs, laughter fading into the rhythm of the night insects. No alarms. No whispered prayers. Just life returning to itself. I walked the perimeter one last time before heading inside. The air smelled of pine and smoke; the sound of the river was louder than I remembered. Every sense felt sharpened, alive in it ordinariness. Lilly passed by carrying a bundle of herbs. “You’re still patrolling,” she teased. “Habit,” I said. “The kind that’s hard to break.” She smiled and kept walking, humming a song I hadn’t heard since we were children. For a moment the world tilted, and I saw how easily balance could look like grace. The house was quiet wh
- Writer
