"Have you considered talking to someone about this?"
"No," Larissa responded perhaps too quickly, the word escaping before she could moderate her tone or consider the suggestion. "There's nothing to talk about. I just... get distracted sometimes."
Her tutor sighed softly, the sound carrying years of experience with young nobles who carried burdens too heavy for their small shoulders.
"Do you want us to suspend the lesson for today?" her tutor offered gently, setting aside the etiquette diagrams.
Larissa opened her eyes wide and shook her head with an urgency that spoke to deeper fears than simple academic responsibility.
"No. I need... I need to stay busy. When I have nothing to do, it gets worse."
♢♢♢♢
Luna sat in silence in the center of the room, surrounded by Liora, Mayo, and Matilda, but feeling completely alone.
Her friends tried to offer comfort, but their words seemed to bounce off an invisible barrier she had built around herself.
