Chapter 52: The Room Where They Wait
The scent reached me before I stepped fully into the room - a golden warmth wafting in layers of butter and sweetness, curling around my senses like sunlight.
Elune stood beside the breakfast table, her apron dusted lightly with flour, placing a final croissant on a white porcelain plate. Four others rested on a silver tray, arranged like a small offering. Beside them, Elune’s homemade strawberry jam, pale honey, and freshly frothed milk in a blue ceramic cup. I hadn’t noticed the blue cup before. It matched the color of the sky in my dream.
"You’re right on time," she said, turning with a smile that could have belonged in any morning of my old life - if that life had ever truly existed.
"Why do I feel like I just came home from a long travel?" I murmured, stepping barefoot across the room. "And you remembered the jam."
"Of course," she said gently. "It’s hard to forget what matters."
Luc was already seated at the table, her presence quiet and soothing. She wore her immaculate black suit again, composed and sharp as ever. The only imperfection was that a strand of her silver hair had fallen over her left eye. She didn’t move to brush it away.
Good morning," I said. Though it had been so long, I felt closer to her now than I ever had before
Luc didn’t answer right away. Her gray eyes lifted to meet mine. The eyes gleamed with a muted smile, but I sensed a shade of fatigue in them. Not in body, but something deeper, older. Yet they held me there.
"You’re late," she finally said, her voice dry.
I blinked, and Elune laughed - a short, ringing sound as she placed the tray between us.
"Miss Roen needed a moment," she said, defending me with the air of an old friend. "Some mornings are quieter than others."