A WEEK LATER
EMPEROR LIANWEI POINT OF VIEW:
The quiet of the study was heavy, too heavy. Mei Shen sat by the window, her eyes distant, fingers nervously twisting the edge of a worn book. It was like watching a flickering flame struggling in the wind fragile, almost ready to go out. I wanted to reach out, but I wasn't sure how. The palace was a world away from the earth she once knew, and yet, this loneliness clung to her like a shadow from that other life.
"Do you want to talk?" I finally asked, my voice softer than I expected.
She didn't answer right away. Instead, she glanced up, a flicker of pain crossing her face.
"It's... hard to explain." She whispered. "Back on Earth, I never really had a mother. Or a family that made me feel like I belonged. It's like I was just... left behind."
