The pavilion had changed over the past few months. It had been given a new coat of paint, and the gardeners had even managed to strip the more obnoxious ivy branches from the roof.
The midmorning sun shone brightly on the wet cobblestones around it, and for a moment the pavilion was bathed in gold.
I sat down on one of the wooden benches that had been installed six months into my stay at the palace, put a simple black silk pouch beside me and opened my book.
I had a feeling that my protests earlier this morning wouldn't dissuade the king from sending me into the Desert Kingdoms for very long. I needed to brush up on the language if I was going to make any headway with whatever assignment he had in store for me.
From glaciers to dunes in a single year.
The book proved more interesting than I had anticipated, and it took Anna a couple of tries before I heard her call my name.
"Huh, wha- Yes?" I said, looking up from my reading.
