š.š: Guard undercover
šhe familiar bustle of her ladies-in-waiting stirred Elysia awake.
Soft murmurs drifted around her, punctuated by the quiet shuffle of feet across the polished floor and the delicate clinking of porcelain and silver as her morning preparations began.
She gave a slight stretch beneath the covers, rubbed at her eyes, and then released the gnarliest yawn imaginable.
The sound was so outrageous, so sudden, that the room paused. Mira dropped a hair comb. Seraphine froze mid-lacing the gown laid out on the nearby divan.
Then laughter broke the silence.
Elysia blinked, still trapped in the haze of half-sleep, before her eyes found Mira and Seraphine grinning fondly at her. But it was the quiet presence behind them that caught her off guard.
Liliette.
Standing there, tucked just slightly behind the others, her eyes bright with emotion, her lips curled into a small but unmistakably familiar smile.
The haze vanished instantly.
