CAROLINE
I took a deep breath, studying the figure in the mirror.
Objectively perfect: my make-up was flawless, and my hair circled my head in a soft crown braid, complimenting my gown, a masterpiece of dark green velvet with gold embroidery sewn by the most delicate and skilled Fae hands. No black - it was green the colour of mourning among the Fae.
"Good," I murmured. "I only need ..."
"The jewelry you requested, Your Grace," Astrid said, handing me a walnut box. "The set your mother had commissioned for your birth. May she return to Nature."
A few seconds passed before I was able to repeat those words, as was customary.
"May ... may she return to Nature," I murmured, fighting the knot in my throat. "You may go, Astrid."
"As you wish, Princess."
She silently disappeared beh
