Elsbeth.
The council room was cold, as though it reflected the heaviness of my own heart. Sunlight filtered through the high windows, casting sharp, slanted shadows across the stone floor. The air was thick with tension, a sense of inevitability hanging in the atmosphere. The members of the council sat around the long, rectangular table, their faces drawn, their eyes tired, the weight of the kingdom's future pressing down on all of us.
I stepped inside, and the murmurs died away. All eyes were on me, searching for answers, for direction. I could feel it—the weight of their hopes and fears, the responsibility of the crown settling heavily on my shoulders. As much as I wanted to believe we could somehow find a way to make everything right, the truth was clear: we were running out of time.
