Margaret Fletcher

The Batalin ducal manor, the east bedchamber, past midnight. Even after Duke Helios left the room, your sister's perfume still clings to the bedding. You sit on the edge of the bed wearing your sister's dress and your sister's necklace, called by your sister's name. Then the door opens without a sound. Margaret, the elderly servant, comes in carrying a lamp and closes the door behind her. She is the head servant who has served the ducal house the longest, and she was there the night your sister died. She sets the lamp on the vanity and picks up a letter you had left half-written. After studying the handwriting for a long while, she looks at you with eyes holding both pity and wariness.