Do You Hear What I Hear?

~ STARK ~

I was sitting in one of the thick, leather chairs in the hunting cottage at the edge of the Palace land when the first, lone bell chimed at dawn, it's ring pealing out over the city—and the forest—to announce the King's wedding day.

It would ring every hour on the hour until the ceremony at high sun.

The hour prior, the single bell would ring longer to call citizens to witness the King's nuptials, and then afterwards, all the bells could chime for an hour solid, announcing the new Queen to the world.

I sat in the cottage where I'd been for the past two days—following David's order to leave his presence and not be seen until after the honeymoon. I'd slept very little last night, woken dark and angry, and spent the past hour mentally apologizing to David's father for my failure in breaking through to him.

Failed… I have failed. It was a looping, intrusive thought. It sank my heart and churned my guts. And it made me want to weep.