***Cassius***
The fortress woke earlier than usual. Or perhaps it only felt that way because my eyes had opened long before the first signs of dawn.
I stood by the window, leaning against the heavy frame as I listened to the familiar sounds of Ravenshollow beginning its day. The distant thud of wooden crates being shifted, the occasional stamp of a horse's hoof against the stones in the courtyard below. Someone was loading the last of our heavy trunks onto the back of the carriage.
It was strange how departures always happened on ordinary mornings. The world didn't pause for your life to change, the guards still changed their shifts, the kitchen staff still lit the morning fires.
I was so caught up in watching the stable hands lead the horses through the grey light that I didn't hear Aldrik wake. I didn't hear a single footstep across the room, and I didn't realize he was standing behind me until a pair of warm arms slid around my waist, pulling me back against his chest.
