Lucien was often out of the pack house for a day or two, but now he's gone for the week. I never felt more relieved than today that I can finally enjoy peace when he and my older sister are not around.
Lucien’s absence weighed strangely on the mansion. Without his looming presence, silence didn’t feel heavy; it felt open. Rooms that usually smothered me now seemed to breathe.
I carried the laundry basket into the garden, grateful for the quiet. But as I reached the line of wooden posts, a voice interrupted.
“Do you ever get tired of doing this alone?”
I turned so quickly I nearly dropped the basket. Elizer stood there, arms crossed loosely, a half-smile playing at his lips.
“I… It’s my duty,” I said, eyes darting back to the linens.
“Duty. You use that word a lot.” He says.
“It’s t
