By the next morning, Elara felt much better.
The fever was gone.
Her head was clear.
And, most importantly, Ravenna had finally stopped looking at her as though she might disappear if she looked away for more than three seconds.
At least, that was what Elara hoped.
She opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was Blue.
The tiny dragon was sitting directly on her chest.
He stared down at her with enormous blue eyes.
Elara stared back.
"Good morning."
Blue chirped.
"Yes, I'm alive."
Blue chirped again.
"I suppose that's good news."
The dragon nodded.
At least, Elara assumed it was a nod.
Then Blue suddenly jumped off the bed.
A moment later, there was a loud crash from somewhere outside the room.
Elara sat up.
"Blue?"
Another crash.
Then a familiar voice.
"Blue!"
Elara smiled.
Ravenna.
She pushed open the door.
Ravenna stood in the hallway with Blue sitting proudly on her head.
There was a pillow under one arm.
A blanket over one shoulder.
And a tray in her hands.
Elara stared.
"Good morning."
Ravenna looked at her.
"How do you feel?"
"Better."
"Completely?"
"Mostly."
"Mostly isn't completely."
"Ravenna."
"Yes?"
"I'm fine."
Ravenna narrowed her eyes.
Elara laughed.
"I promise."
Ravenna stepped into the room.
Blue climbed down from her head and flew toward Elara.
"You've been troublesome," Ravenna told him.
Blue chirped innocently.
"I don't believe you."
Elara reached out and Blue immediately settled into her arms.
Ravenna placed the tray on the table.
"Breakfast."
"What did Garin make?"
"Rice porridge."
Elara looked at the bowl.
"And?"
"Toast."
"And?"
"Fruit."
"And?"
"Tea."
Elara smiled.
"You remembered."
"Of course I remembered."
Ravenna said it so naturally that Elara paused.
"What?"
"You remembered my favorite tea."
Ravenna looked slightly confused.
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Because I didn't tell you very long ago."
"I remember things about you."
Elara's heart gave a small flutter.
Ravenna seemed not to notice.
She was busy arranging the breakfast.
"You like jasmine tea in the morning."
"Yes."
"Black tea when you are working."
"Yes."
"Honey tea when you're tired."
"Yes."
"You don't like overly sweet pastries."
"I don't."
"You prefer strawberries to cherries."
Elara stared at her.
Ravenna finally looked up.
"What?"
"You really have been paying attention."
Ravenna's cheeks became faintly pink.
"I told you."
"Told me what?"
"That I would like to know you."
Elara smiled.
"You do."
Ravenna looked away.
"Not enough."
The words were quiet.
Elara's smile faded slightly.
"What do you mean?"
Ravenna sat down.
For a moment, she seemed uncertain.
Then she looked at the window.
"I know what tea you like."
She folded her hands in her lap.
"I know what food you prefer. I know which books you choose when you want to relax. I know you like the greenhouse in the afternoon because the sunlight comes through the glass at an angle you like."
Elara listened.
"But..."
Ravenna's fingers tightened.
"I don't know what you were like before you became the Saint."
Elara was silent.
Ravenna continued.
"I know the stories."
"The stories say you were chosen by the White Rose when you were twelve. That you healed wounded soldiers. That you never refused anyone who needed help. That you were beloved by the people."
She gave a small, bitter smile.
"But stories are always so neat."
Elara looked down at her hands.
"They are."
"Was it really like that?"
Elara thought about the question.
"No."
Ravenna waited.
Elara smiled faintly.
"I was terrible at being a Saint."
Ravenna blinked.
"Terrible?"
"I cried during my first public ceremony."
"You?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because there were thousands of people watching me."
Ravenna's expression softened.
"I was twelve."
"That makes sense."
"I was expected to smile."
"I see."
"I was supposed to look pure and calm and graceful."
"You were twelve."
"I know."
Elara laughed quietly.
"I remember standing there in that white dress, holding a rose, while everyone called me a miracle."
"And I remember thinking that I wanted to go home."
Ravenna didn't interrupt.
"My brother was waiting for me."
Elara smiled.
"He had promised to bring me a honey cake."
Ravenna's expression changed.
"A honey cake?"
"Yes."
"That sounds familiar."
"I suppose it does."
They both smiled.
Elara continued.
"I went home that evening."
"What happened?"
"My brother had bought two."
Ravenna laughed softly.
"Two?"
"He said one was for me and one was for him."
"Did you believe him?"
"No."
"You didn't?"
"He ate half of mine."
Ravenna laughed again.
Elara watched her.
The sound was warm.
It made the memory easier to carry.
"My brother used to say that people would always tell me who I was supposed to be."
She lowered her eyes.
"He told me that I didn't have to believe them."
Ravenna was quiet for a long moment.
"That sounds like someone worth remembering."
"He was."
Elara touched the small pendant at her neck.
"He died during the war."
Ravenna's expression softened.
"I'm sorry."
"He wasn't a soldier."
Ravenna looked surprised.
"He was helping people escape a village."
Elara's voice remained calm.
"I think that's why I became the Saint everyone expected."
She looked down.
"If I couldn't save him, I thought I should save everyone else."
Ravenna said nothing.
Elara smiled faintly.
"It took me a long time to realize that wasn't how it worked."
"What changed?"
"You."
Ravenna froze.
Elara immediately realized how the words sounded.
"I mean..."
Ravenna's cheeks turned red.
"You don't have to explain."
"I wasn't saying..."
"I understand."
"You clearly don't."
"I understand enough."
Elara covered her face with one hand.
"This is embarrassing."
Ravenna smiled.
"You don't have to be embarrassed."
"You are smiling."
"I am."
"Why?"
"Because you said I changed something."
Elara lowered her hand.
"I suppose you did."
Ravenna looked at her.
"How?"
Elara thought carefully.
"You never asked me to be the Saint."
Ravenna remained silent.
"You never asked me to be perfect."
She looked toward the garden.
"You never asked me to save anyone."
Her eyes returned to Ravenna.
"You just asked me to stay."
Ravenna's expression became very still.
Elara smiled.
"That was new."
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Ravenna reached for the teapot.
"Your tea is getting cold."
Elara laughed softly.
"You're changing the subject."
"I am."
"Why?"
"Because I'm embarrassed."
That surprised Elara.
"You?"
"Yes."
"I didn't know you could admit that."
"I'm learning."
They shared a small smile.
Then Ravenna stood.
"I want to show you something."
"Where?"
"The west wing."
Elara frowned.
"I thought that part of the castle was closed."
"It usually is."
"Why?"
Ravenna hesitated.
"Because my mother's room is there."
Elara's smile disappeared.
"I see."
"You don't have to come."
Elara stood.
"I want to."
Ravenna looked at her.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Blue immediately followed them.
Ravenna looked down at the dragon.
"You too?"
Blue chirped.
"I suppose that's settled."
They walked through the quieter part of the castle.
The west wing was different from the rest.
There were fewer servants.
No music.
No voices.
The walls were older.
Dust rested on the edges of the windows.
Elara noticed that Ravenna walked more slowly here.
Eventually, they stopped before a large wooden door.
Ravenna placed her hand on the handle.
She didn't open it.
"My mother died when I was eighteen."
Elara waited.
"She was the Demon Queen before me."
Ravenna smiled faintly.
"She was nothing like me."
"What was she like?"
"She laughed loudly."
Elara smiled.
"She sounds wonderful."
"She was." You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Ravenna looked at the door.
"She loved flowers."
"Like you?"
"No."
Ravenna smiled.
"She liked bright ones."
"Sunflowers?"
"Sunflowers. Daisies. Yellow roses."
Elara looked at her.
"You like black roses."
"My father liked them."
Ravenna's fingers rested on the door.
"He said black roses were honest."
"Honest?"
"They didn't pretend to be delicate."
Elara smiled.
"I think I understand."
Ravenna finally opened the door.
Inside was a small room filled with sunlight.
Elara expected something dark.
Instead, she found warmth.
There were paintings on the walls.
A wooden desk.
A bookshelf.
A vase filled with dried yellow flowers.
And beside the window stood an old piano.
Elara stepped inside.
"This is beautiful."
Ravenna nodded.
"My mother played this."
She walked toward it.
Then she sat down.
Her fingers rested on the keys.
She didn't play.
"I used to sit here while she practiced."
"Did she teach you?"
"She tried."
Ravenna smiled.
"I was terrible."
"I don't believe that."
"I am."
"Prove it."
Ravenna looked offended.
"I don't think that is how encouragement works."
Elara laughed.
For a moment, the room felt lighter.
Then Ravenna's expression changed.
"She died here."
Elara's smile faded.
"On my birthday."
She looked down.
"That's why I stopped celebrating it."
Elara remembered the previous night.
The cake.
The gifts.
The wooden fox.
Ravenna's quiet happiness.
"I was angry with her."
Elara said nothing.
"I thought she had left me."
Ravenna's voice was very quiet.
"I knew she hadn't chosen to die, but that didn't matter when I was eighteen."
She looked toward the window.
"I thought the world had taken everything from me."
Elara stepped closer.
"And then you became queen."
"Yes."
"Did it get better?"
Ravenna thought about it.
"No."
Elara looked at her.
"It got quieter."
Ravenna smiled sadly.
"I became good at being strong."
She touched the piano.
"People needed a queen who never hesitated."
"So you became her."
"Yes."
"And nobody asked whether Ravenna was all right."
Ravenna looked at her.
"Not until you."
The words were so quiet that Elara almost missed them.
She stepped closer.
Then she held out her hand.
Ravenna looked at it.
She hesitated.
Then took it.
Their fingers intertwined.
No magic appeared.
No ancient prophecy awakened.
No silver light filled the room.
It was simply two people holding hands.
And somehow, that felt more important.
"Thank you," Ravenna whispered.
"For what?"
"For staying."
Elara squeezed her hand.
"I'm not going anywhere."
Ravenna closed her eyes.
For the first time since Elara had met her, the Demon Queen looked completely tired.
Not weak.
Not defeated.
Just tired.
Elara stepped closer.
"You don't have to be strong all the time."
Ravenna opened her eyes.
"I know."
"Do you?"
Ravenna looked at their joined hands.
"I'm learning."
Elara smiled.
"Then we're both learning."
From the doorway came a tiny chirp.
They turned.
Blue was sitting beside the threshold.
He looked between them.
Then he yawned.
Ravenna stared.
"He's bored."
Elara laughed.
"Perhaps."
"Should we go?"
"Yes."
They left the room together.
Before closing the door, Ravenna looked back once.
Then she gently shut it.
The west wing became quiet again.
But something had changed.
The room no longer felt like a place Ravenna had to visit alone.
And perhaps that was why, when they returned to the garden later that afternoon, the Silver Rose was blooming.
A single silver petal had appeared between the black and white ones.
Ravenna stared at it.
Elara stood beside her.
Neither spoke.
The flower shimmered in the sunlight.
And somewhere deep beneath the castle, the ancient seal answered.
This time, however, there was no whisper of warning.
Only a faint sound.
Almost like a heartbeat.
Together.