Chapter 112: Stranded

Sage

Morning's pale dawn light filtered through the dingy curtains, gradually stirring me from a fitful sleep. For a blissful moment upon waking, I forgot where I was and the full circumstances of my exile. I could pretend it was just another day back home in my familiar chambers.

But cruel reality came crashing down swiftly, and I had to muffle a choked sob into the lumpy pillow. I was reviled as a traitor now, utterly alone and adrift. Home was forever lost to me.

Eventually the complaints of my empty, gnawing stomach forced me to stir. If I hoped to take even the smallest steps to rebuild some semblance of a life, I needed to eat. So I hauled myself reluctantly upright and began dressing for the day mechanically.

Once presentable, I slipped downstairs while the inn was still largely quiet. Only the innkeeper was about, and he raised a bushy brow in evident surprise to see me emerge rather than fleeing into protective anonymity before dawn. He had rightly assumed I would prefer to a