C4 The First Morning

The option of sleep evaded her. It was an inky abyss devoid of dreams, and she had awakened gasping from it. Somewhere, for an instant, she was unsure of her whereabouts. Cool silk sheets slipped off her skin, the air was clean-scented with flowers, and gentle shafts of morning light stole into the room. Then memory crashed, hard, into her consciousness like a physical blow. The masquerade