POV: Balthen, Royal Butler of Solara
"Yes, my lord. I'll keep a close eye on him," I said, bowing low before Lord Kezess.
He stood still, hands behind his back, eyes locked on the horizon through the throne room's highglass. He didn't nod. He didn't speak again. But the weight of his silence was answer enough.
I turned to leave. The doors opened without sound.
The walk to the garden passed through a corridor of silent statues and mirror-light. The carved faces of former kings watched me like judges. My boots clicked softly against polished marble.
When I entered the Sky Garden, the air changed.
The scent of fresh rain clung to the stone paths, though it had not rained in days. The sky above shimmered with soft amber, filtered through the glass canopy overhead. Between vines and silver-laced hedges, birds flitted and chirped—but not like before. Their melodies were slower, like echoes of some forgotten song.
And then, through the arch of blooming crescent ivy, I saw him.
Arthur.
Not a boy anymore, though the world still called him that. Ten years had passed, and still he moved like someone born into waiting. He walked along the outer ring of the garden, boots brushing fallen petals. His hands were clasped behind him, his eyes on nothing and everything.
His hair shimmered gold-white in the light—but today, I caught it.
A flicker.
Red.
A streak that wasn't there yesterday.
It glowed like fire under glass.
I stepped closer, careful not to disturb the garden's breath.
Then she appeared.
Elanor Sunshine.
She moved like a whisper behind the vine-rows, her steps featherlight, barely disturbing the soft moss underfoot. Her hair glowed ember-red in the filtered light, and those pointed elven ears twitched slightly, betraying her nervousness.
She was following him. Again.
My thoughts darkened.
Why does she keep coming here? Why won't she stay away, like the others?
She should know better. The council warned the nobles. The heirs kept their distance. They all saw what Arthur was—or feared he might be.
But not her.
Not Elanor.
She followed him not like prey, but like something trying to understand the sun by walking into it.
And Arthur… he never looked back.
He never had to.