The palace was dark, save for the miniscule amount of moonlight that managed to sneak past the curtains and illuminate strips of the room. It was quiet, if you could get past the buzz of silence and occasional cough that echoed down the corridors. It was questionable whether the sound arose concern, or perhaps comfort that one wasn't alone in such a massive place.

The palace, right now, was also empty. Or, it would be, had a girl not been standing alone in the nearly-empty halls, a glass of water in hand. The honest truth was, she'd gotten up from her bed to go fetch a drink herself, as she found it petulant to ask favors of the maids at such an hour. She hadn't been blessed with a pair of arms and legs to sit around helplessly, after all.

However, she would be lying if she said the glass of water was the reason she now stood ominously in front of her room, her hand hovered only inches away from the doorknob in hesitation. She understood that her worries were likely overdrawn and unnecessary, but…

As she heard another cough ring out from a nearby room, she finally made up her resolve. She dropped her hand back to her side, now approaching the room right beside her own. Quickly, as if afraid she'd change her mind mid-way, the girl opened the door. She turned toward the bed, facing her mother.

It was in this moment that she thought of that saying. The one that said, "some things should be better left unknown".

Once her eyes landed on the Duchess, she couldn't tear her eyes away. Her previously spirited and youthful mother now appeared frail and sickly. Her skin was pale, almost the color of paper. It was as if all the life had been sucked out of the woman. Her arm hung lifelessly over the edge of the bed, as if she were reaching out for help that never came. Even while in such a state, she managed to offer a small smile to the girl who'd just entered the room.

Feeling a frenzy of emotions wash over her, the ravenette shifted her gaze from her mother over toward a man who resided near the foot of the bed.

"Is this why you forbid me from seeing her?" She asked, her tone accusatory. While she knew he did it to protect her feelings, her composure was slowly deteriorating by the second and crumbling apart. The only way she knew how to make herself feel better, was by blaming someone else. "How can you call yourself a father? I cannot believe you've been hiding this from me for weeks!"

Her father wore a blank expression. It seemed that he'd already come to terms with reality, and found no use in engaging in such an argument. "Why are you still awake at this hour? The staff told me you'd been put to bed."

"You're avoiding the question," she snapped, taking a step closer. "I've already seen enough. Tell me the truth. Tell it to my face so that I don't misunderstand." Tears had already begun to drip down her cheeks. A mixture of frustration and fear caused them to continue forming.

"Misaki—"

"Stop worrying about my feelings for once, please! I'm almost eighteen years old! Stop treating me like a child!" The words flew from her lips without permission. She knew she'd regret her rashness in the future, but she couldn't stop herself. Suddenly, her knees buckled beneath her, and she found herself now sitting on the floor, her head rested up against the bedside. Some of her fighting spirit appeared to have worn off. "I want to help Mom…"

He kneeled beside her, nodding his head solemnly. "For now, the most you can do is stay by her side. Don't allow her to feel lonely. Eventually, with her daughter by her side, I'm sure she'll get better." He told her. She knew his words were meant to soothe her, and that a person's sickness could not be cured just like that… But for her own sake, she chose to believe him.

Just to grant herself some peace of mind.

-o-

are your eyes deceiving you? is mikanlove really posting after 8 months of inactivity? or is this perhaps a mass hallucination? you'll never know :)

just kidding! ya girl is back with a banger. i haven't been super inspired to write for a while (i wrote lil tidbits for fun here and there but y'know), but i am back!

this chapter is a shortie because it's the prologue and is meant to be a taste of what ur gonna be reading! the following chapters will be longer do not fret