*Kryzen*
I woke up to the faintest hint of dawn trickling through the curtains, the scent of jasmine still lingering in the air. The bed beside me was empty, the sheets cool to the touch where Briella should have been. I sat up, confusion knitting my brow as I called out her name softly, "Briella?" No answer came. My eyes darted around the room. Her nightgown wasn’t draped over the chair, but her slippers were missing from the bedside.
“Briella?” I called again, louder this time.
"Maybe she went for water," I murmured to myself, swinging my legs off the bed and padding across the cold stone floor.
The bathroom door stood ajar, its emptiness echoing back at me. Down the hallway, the silence of the palace weighed heavily like a thick blanket smothering any sound.
Briella had the habit of wandering when her mind was troubled in the past, but she never strayed far without telling me, not anymore at least.
