Elua closed the door to 'their' quarters with unusual gentleness, as if afraid that a harder push might disturb the perfect preservation of Qatrand's presence within. The room remained exactly as it was that morning when she snuck out. Except the bedroll was now neatly arranged and the muscular teen was no longer laying on it.
Spare training clothes had been folded in precise stacks, with a mint colored polishing cloth set beside the weapon stand. Hanging from a hook on it was her silver dress, left hanging where her beloved would see it as she gathered her things before leaving.
'So she'd wonder what I was wearing instead. What I was planning to do, exactly. And just maybe…'
Sealed away from public view, her shoulders lowered as she exhaled a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. It wasn't like anyone could see her coming back anyway, with her illusions working at full scale to separate her from reality. But even that hadn't allowed her to relax.
