Rosalind loosened the braid in her hair, running her fingers through the strands until they fell loosely around her shoulders. Beneath the dark dress she now wore to blend into the shadows of the palace, she already had a thinner piece of clothing prepared for when they reached the water.
There was not much she could take with her anyway but after a brief hesitation, she picked up the Merovia perfume she had grown attached to over time and slipped it into her pocket.
Her gaze then drifted toward the pearl necklace resting on the table, the one the king had given her.
Ever since he had left for the battlefield, she had stopped wearing it around her neck, and now she was leaving it behind completely. He had once told her she would never leave him or this castle, yet tonight she intended to prove him wrong. The irony almost made her laugh softly to herself. The very person Alaric had assigned to watch over her was now the same person helping her escape the palace.
