There are days that arrive to settle in your head like leaves between the pages of a favorite book shining, fragile, lasting longer than they ought to. This, I thought, waking up the next day, could be one such day. Not because life was perfect fissures still existed in the palace walls, and out in the distance in the world, rebels were planning their next move. But for the first time in much too long, I felt I could hold onto hope.
Sunlight streamed through my curtains, creating a mottled glow on the bed. For a few blessed moments, I let myself remain silent, hearing the palace sounds distant: Mara's giggle, Elira's complaint at yet another practice session before dawn, the twins' shrill bickering over whose turn it was to name the day's "official palace mascot." In a previous life, this would have annoyed me. Now, it was the sound of home.
