A secret meeting at dawn
Dawn oozed into the sky like a reluctant confession—soft, pale, and trembling at the edges. Emilia had scarcely slept. Every whisper, every shadow, every echo behind the walls had repeated itself in her dreams until she woke with her heart beating and her throat tight. At night, the mansion was eerie, but in the morning, it was... cautious. She put a shawl around her shoulders and strolled into the hallway, thinking movement may quiet her restless nerves. The house was silent, but it didn't feel empty; rather, it hummed with an inexplicable awareness, as though the walls themselves were waiting. She strolled toward the wide windows facing the gardens.Mist drifted across the fields like thin veils, curling around the bushes. And then— A figure. Outside.
