The Garden Where Time Forgot
Gold spilled across the palace gardens as the day grew older, touching marble walkways and roses alike. A hush now, after the wind slowed to almost nothing, drifting through petals and the faint sound of water - soft, just there, more felt than heard.
Over there, Victor lowered himself onto the light-colored bench next to Sasha, surrounded by high shrubs and floating flower bits. Time stretched thin in that spot, held still during the brief stretch just before daylight gives way to evening.
Victor walked lighter now, like the air had changed. Court games vanished into silence. Expectations? Gone. Nobody watched to judge what he'd become.
Just her.
