VALERIE
It was late into the evening when the guests began to make their way to the palace in hordes. I had been watching out the window when a gentle rapping came at my door.
A guard stepped inside and bowed. “I have been instructed by Princess Alyssa to retrieve you for the banquet. Might you dress in something…a little more appropriate for the occasion?”
I felt something light inside of me at the invitation. It wasn’t that I was necessarily excited for the banquet, but it gave me an opportunity to see Alyssa.
And Xavier.
I had been locked in my chamber for days now, waiting for Ava to recover from her…recent events. But I did not want to leave her be. Especially after what had occurred with the guards.
I turned to look at her. She seemed…relatively normal today. Perhaps it wasn’t
