Viana woke that morning, sunlight piercing through the curtains of her room. The scent of roses from the palace garden wafted in, offering a sensation different from her time in the forest.
She could perceive every pulse of life around her, a much more complex noise than what existed in the forest.
All the activity on the palace's ground floor, the hurrying servants in the corridors, the chatter in the kitchen, even the sounds made by the horses in the stables. She could even feel the sleepiness of a guard who had just finished his night watch, the fear of a servant who had just broken a plate.
Everything felt very chaotic, not peaceful like in the calm, harmonious forest. She rose, then, and sat on the edge of her bed.
She closed her eyes again, focusing her mind, to try and reach the palace rats. They were everywhere, scurrying quickly beneath the floors, or in unseen cracks.
