Emmerich
She was quiet in her room. Now that she knew my secret, it felt futile to be here next door. Too far away. I should be there with her, and I should have been for the past few nights. She probably thought I abandoned her, and in a way, I did. It wasn’t my proudest moment, and they said I had always had the instincts of a defender.
I came from a place where everyone knew everybody from a young age. We weren’t close to each other for long stretches of time, but names would be repeated and friends would be pushed toward us – like Lady Mary was to me even when we were children. Enemies would have been decided on just as easily. We knew our allies and we aligned ourselves with them, not just in war but in friendship and marriages, as well.
It was either too close or too far. People
