Chapter 261. The One Thing

Emelda

It’s a quiet night. A long, silent walk from the castle. I needed this quiet, this stillness in the late summer air. Ravenfell comes into view beyond the trees, twinkling in the darkness.

I smile, shaking my head as I look down at my shoes. I can still feel the weight of the twins in my arms. They are two perfect angels. A perfect prince and a princess for the Kingdom of Crimson Peak.

I pass through the village, its streets relatively quiet at this hour, nodding hello to those out and about, running their midnight errands. Smiles alight on me as the people return my greetings. Lowe and Alma’s house is lit brightly from within. I almost stop to see them, but for some reason, my feet carry me ahead toward the edge of town to my house.

The flowers I planted this spring wait for me there, in their last phases of blooming. Soon, the tidy front garden will start to wilt with the fading season. Leaves will fall from the trees and cover the gr