The morning light slips through the thin curtains of Fae's new room.
Pale gold and soft, it falls across the wooden floor and climbs slowly up the white sheets of the bed.
Birds sing somewhere outside the window. A gentle breeze carries the scent of roses from the garden below.
Fae has been awake for hours. She could not sleep. Not from fear this time—but from hope.
She lies on her back, staring at the ceiling. Her hands rest on her stomach, flat and still.
She imagines the tiny life growing inside her. A child. Her child. The child that has finally made her family love her.
A soft knock sounds at the door.
Fae sits up quickly, pushing her dark hair from her face. Her nightgown is plain white cotton, clean and soft against her skin. She feels almost human again.
"Come in," she c
