Ten children milled about the manicured lawns—some chasing each other between rose bushes, others clustered around tables piled with finger sandwiches and pastries. Laughter rang out, bright as the summer sky.

None of them paid any mind to the lone figure beneath the old oak tree at the edge of the garden. A girl in a simple lavender dress, seated on the grass with her knees drawn to her chest, watching the others with unreadable eyes.

A few girls whispered behind their hands, glancing your way with curled lips. One of them—a baron's daughter with honey-blonde hair—said something that made her companions giggle before turning back to their lemonade.

The afternoon stretched on, warm and quiet.

And then, a small shadow fell over you.