••{GARRICK'S POV}••
The estate comes into view just as the last light bleeds from the sky.
I slow my horse to a walk as the familiar iron gates appear through the tree line, torches burning on either side of the stone pillars the way they always do at nightfall.
The grounds beyond are quiet. The hedgerows trimmed. The gravel path leading to the front doors raked clean.
From the outside, everything looks exactly as I left it.
That's what I tell myself as I ride through the gates.
A stable boy appears from the side path before I've even dismounted.
"Good evening Ser," he greets, bowing his head before he takes my reins.
"Thank you," I say.
He nods and leads my horse away.
I stand there for a moment in the quiet.
Two months.
I've been gone for two months and in all that time this place existed without me. And it pains me that I can't even spend a full day with my family after being gone for so long.
I move toward the front doors.
