Light. Air. Breeze. Salt.

I open my eyes to the familiar sense of warmth and sea. The sight of an emerald ocean sparkling under the rays of sunlight brings a small smile to my face.

This is my favorite place. My sole escape. And the scene that holds my most precious memories.

The hill by the Summer Palace.

Even now, I can hear the musical lilt of his laughter dancing along with the wind that smells like fresh earth and salty air. I can taste the sugar melting on my tongue. And I see him standing there, strong and unmovable against the backdrop of a cloudless sky.

My heart skips a beat when I realize he’s really here. Waiting at the top of the hill, he stands facing the ocean with his hands clasped behind his back. Looking solemnly at the view, he looks lonely and forgotten.

Without a thought, my body moves towards him as if through the sheer force of nature, I am pulled towards the man holding my heart.

He must hear me approaching because he turns his face, and as our eyes meet, he offers me a small smile. I soar with happiness at the sight of those rare smiles of his and that little dimple I always love to find. But, there’s something distant about him as he looks at me, and I long to bring him closer.

Richard walks towards me and takes my hand. “Jovine.”

Richard.

I freeze when my mouth doesn’t move at my command. I want to speak, yet nothing comes out. The gentle breeze crescendos until the current of air echoes through my ears. Richard’s mouth moves in gentle syllables, but I don’t hear a single word he says.

“Richard, what’s happening?”

My voice fails to escape me, and panic begins to crawl up my throat.

“I can’t hear you,” I shout, but the gale carries my words far away.

I try to move towards him, but my feet stay grounded.

No. Let me move. Let me go to him.

Richard goes on, oblivious to my state. He suddenly presents a small, ornate box, covered in strange engravings and places it in an outstretched hand that looks like my own.

Through the deafening sound of the wind, his muffled voice breaks through. “This belongs to you,” he remarks, a small tilt gracing his lips. But there’s a sadness weighing down his words. He starts to speak once more, but the malevolent wind comes back to oppress his voice.

No. Please. Let me go—

The sun darkens until all the color is bleached from the world.

“RICHARD,” I scream into the abyss.

The wind grows angry as it shoves at my swaying body, craving to rip me away from him. My vision grows dark, and the ground starts to rumble in reverberating trembles.

The quake shatters my consciousness until it feels as if I’m falling into the unknown.

No. Let me stay with him. Don’t take me away—

“Your Highness!”

“WAKE UP.”

Jovine opened her eyes, waking to the frightened cries of her ladies-in-waiting. Panicked shrieks pierced her ears as shattering glass violently exploded onto the trembling floor.

“Your Highness!” Erin cried. “We need to—”

The ground shook with unrelenting, vicious quakes, pushing Jovine off the bed and slamming her against the wall.

“YOUR HIGHNESS!”

Erin stumbled over, attempting to help her up, but Jovine fell back onto the floor as a throbbing ache rang in her mind and spread throughout her weak body. Several more hands and worried shouts surrounded her when another fierce quake overtook the Palace.

“What’s going on?” Jovine feebly mumbled.

“The earth is quaking, Your Highness. We need to leave now to find safe shelter,” Erin replied hastily, finally getting her to stand and dragging her towards the Drawing Room.

Jovine felt faint and lightheaded, as if all the strength had been leached from her body. She couldn’t recall what had happened to bring her to such a state of ailment.

There was a dream. The one on the hill with a box and…

Richard.

It all came rushing back to her.

His unexpected arrival in the rain. The death of the Emperor. An unknown stranger. The Empress collapsing. And her husband turning away from her.

“Richard,” she breathed. “Where is he?”

Her ladies paid no heed to her words, occupied by the escalating trembles rocking the Palace walls. Slouched between Erin and Lady Margaret, her Court Lady, Jovine walked through the carnage left behind by the quake. The Palace was a mess, and the rumbles only grew harsher. Everyone was in a state of alarm as they rushed back and forth to bring people out to the courtyard, where they would be free from the dangers of falling debris.

Windows started to shatter and people shrieked in hysteria. Jovine’s breaths started to hiccup in fear.

“The Empress. Richard. Where are they?” she demanded.

Lady Margaret bit her lips. “We need to get you to safety—”

“No,” she cut in, stopping them in their tracks down the cluttered hallway. “Their protection comes before mine.”

Erin and Lady Margaret traded a look of concern.

“The last we heard, Crown Prince Richard has forbidden anyone from entering his chambers, and the Empress was being treated by the Royal Physician. But, Your Highness, you are not in a state to be worrying about others,” Erin pleaded. “We barely broke your fever after you lost consciousness in the rain, and now with the earthquake—we need to take you out. The others will surely take care of it.”

The rain. She must have fainted shortly after Richard left and the Empress collapsed. A surge of guilt flooded her. The Emperor was dead, the Empress was ill, and Richard was barricaded away. She had to do something.

Just as she moved towards the Northern Halls, the ground shuddered madly as if they had reached the thundering finale to the manic trembling. A grand shake of the earth threw everyone off balance until they were thrown onto the floor and an aberrant surge of energy pulsed through the space.

Jovine’s chest convulsed in a numbing pain and her head seized with a torrent of voices. She wailed in agony, wanting to rip her own head off to stop the misery. Then, suddenly, it all stopped and everything came to a silent still.

Whispers of relief circulated around the Palace, but Jovine was left rattled.

She had never felt so much pain and suffering in one moment of time.

“What’s going on!?”

Richard’s harsh, angry voice pulled her out of her head and took her by surprise. Dressed in a silk robe, he stood just a few steps away from her in the Main Hall as he looked around at the disorder.

A young steward appeared at his side, looking agitated. He bowed anxiously and said, “The earthquake, Your Majesty. We were fortunate enough to escape it without any severe casualties.”

Richard frowned at the man, his face contorting in spite. “What earthquake?”

The steward sputtered in confusion. “W-what earthquake? Y-Your Majesty, the earth was trembling fiercely just a few seconds ago.”

“If you think a poor excuse such as that one dismisses the state of the Palace, you will find yourself in the dungeons tonight. Get this mess sorted away and do not disturb me,” he snapped.

Jovine looked at her husband in a daze. He hadn’t felt the trembles? And who was this unrecognizable man before her? He had never once spoken to anyone so cruelly before, even with his brash personality.

Richard moved to return to his chambers, but his eyes caught on his wife, who was still fallen on the floor. With a look of revulsion, he scolded, “Jovine, that is no way the future Empress should be seen. Get yourself off the ground, and retire to your chambers.”

Looking around at the staring staff, he bellowed, “We have a coronation to plan!”

He walked away with a sneer and slammed his chamber doors.

An acute shudder rippled through her at the hateful way he had just looked at her.

He had changed too much. He was someone else entirely—someone she couldn’t recognize.

This wasn’t her husband. Wasn’t the man she loved.

Where are you, Richard?

Come back to me. Come back home.