The Letter Left Behind
The sky above Arcanhelm was painted in somber gray, as if mourning the farewell yet to unfold. Morning fog clung to the stone corridors like ghostly whispers, and the torches lining the hallways flickered with hesitant light, reluctant to witness the heartbreak of a silent goodbye.
Kael stood at the west courtyard, where the old sycamore tree shed its golden leaves without wind. He wore his traveler's cloak, though he hadn't planned to leave. Not yet. Something within his chest told him not all farewells come with warnings.
Footsteps echoed softly behind him.
"You're early," Lireen said, her voice almost a murmur, like wind brushing glass.
Kael turned. Her golden hair was braided, her eyes lowered not in shyness, but in burden. She held something in her hands, wrapped in linen, trembling slightly.
"I couldn't sleep," Kael admitted. "I felt like... something was ending."
Lireen looked at him for a long moment before nodding. Then, wordlessly, she extended the linen-wrapped object to him.
Kael hesitated. "What's this?"
"A letter," she said. "But you must promise not to open it yet."
He frowned. "Why?"
Lireen bit her lip. Her voice wavered. "Because it's only meant to be read when you truly understand what it means to be left behind."
Kael's chest tightened. The air between them was thick, as if time itself resisted their parting.
She forced a smile, one that didn't reach her eyes. "I have to go. The council summoned me early. My father..."
Kael's hand reached out. "Lireen, wait—"
She stepped back. "Kael, please. Just... trust me this time."
And then she turned and walked into the fog.
The sycamore leaves fell faster.
Kael stood there, clutching the letter. His heart screamed, but no words came out. The silence was heavier than any battlefield he had known.
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That night, Kael sat alone in his chamber. The letter lay on the table. It pulsed faintly, sealed with ancient magic. A single candle flickered beside it, casting long shadows on the walls.
His fingers hovered over it, trembling. He didn't open it. He couldn't. Because he knew… whatever was written inside would change him. Forever.
He stared at the flame until it died. The silence that followed was not empty but full of everything left unsaid.
Teaser – Chapter 17 : Whispers in the Garden Hall
Lireen is forced into isolation within the noble estate, forbidden from sending word to Kael.
A shadowed figure watches her from the rose garden.
She dreams of fire and a vow she once made as a child.
Meanwhile, Kael begins to sense the truth behind Lireen's disappearance... but the letter remains unopened.
"Don't read it until your heart truly breaks."
That was what she said.
And now, with the echo of her steps fading, I wonder...
Am I already broken, or have I yet to shatter?
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