Vibe: In the Woods Somewhere — Hozier | Same Old Song — Two Feet

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"Christopher, can it really be her? Then we need to call the guard!"

"Alan, that would be a mistake."

The Duke didn't raise his voice, but he spoke faster than usual. His gaze didn't leave the carriage — that gap between the curtain and the frame where the green fabric had just disappeared.

"She knew where she was. Right beside the palace, her home. And still she asked to be taken away."

Alan frowned.

"You think... she's been here the whole time? In the palace?"

The Duke didn't answer. His gaze moved to the large gates. A shift was beginning there — the guard changing positions. A routine rotation, but to an eye trained to notice details, there was an unnatural tension in their movements.

"Alan, let's get clear of here first. Too many eyes. We'll be very lucky if no one noticed us."

Alan gave a short nod and climbed in first.

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Inside, it was quiet. And dark.

The girl had already wedged herself into the far corner from the door — her back pressed against the upholstery, the curtain on the opposite side shifted just enough to leave a crack. Her eyes were closed. Her breathing, even.

As if she were asleep.

Alan looked at her. Then out the window, then back at her. He didn't know what to do with this. Outside, the Duke was still speaking quietly to the coachman — his voice level, unhurried, as if nothing had happened. Alan pressed his hands together on his knees.

/"Christopher, what are you doing..."/

Then — a voice.

"Duke Esterg."

Calm, measured, almost lazy.

"You haven't left yet? Something detained you?"

Inside the carriage, the air trapped in her lungs. Didn't slow — stopped altogether.

Elara's eyes opened sharply, but she didn't move. Not one muscle. Only her pupils expanded, sudden as a blow. Her hands came up to her mouth on their own — palm pressed hard against her lips, pressed until it hurt. Sound meant death.

It was him.

Ten years. Ten years and that voice had always sounded the same — level, calm, never raised. She had learned to fear exactly this tone. Not anger. Calm.

/"Don't move."/

/"Movement gives you away."/

She shifted deeper into the corner, slowly, millimeter by millimeter, her elbows not leaving the upholstery. Her back met the wall. The shadow in the corner — the only thing there was.

She looked at the man across from her. Automatically, without thought.

He sat upright. Hands on his knees. Shoulders slightly raised — a tension he probably wasn't aware of himself. He wasn't looking at her. He was looking out the window.

/"He isn't giving me away."/

Not yet.

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Outside, footsteps grew clearer. Not one person — several. Even, firm, with a metallic echo. The guard was spreading out; Elara felt it by sound alone, through the carriage upholstery.

Christopher looked up. Walking toward them was the Crown Prince. Black hair, a dark single-breasted coat with no excess ornamentation — he had never cared for excess. Behind him, four men spread across the perimeter and worked the ground systematically.

They were searching for something.

/"Hunting for the one who caused the morning's chaos? Perhaps."/

But the Duke knew — the Prince didn't come out in person for minor incidents. Only when he wanted to check something himself.

Christopher inclined his head.

"Your Highness, Crown Prince."

Steady, unhurried, no hurry.

"I was held up at the chancellor's. Estate matters — you know how these things go."

"I do."

Erebus smiled faintly. Just the corner of his mouth, nothing more.

"You're generous with your people, Duke. You even grant titles." A pause — brief, calculated. "And immediately a wedding. Curious what the rush is."

The Duke said nothing. The fingers resting on the wooden door frame tightened — for a second, no more. He immediately relaxed his hand.

Elara couldn't see his face. But she felt it.

The Prince took a step. He came around to the front, unhurried. From the horses' side — where nothing could be seen through the curtain. The carriage was dark, shuttered. But from that angle, through the small gap between the panels, he could see straight inside. He could see her.

Her heart struck hard.

/"Fear shows first."/

/"Hide it."/

She pressed her eyelids shut. Focused on her breathing — even, slow, like sleep. Her nails drove into her palms.

"Duke..."

The voice — closer. Much closer than it should have been. Nearly at the side of the carriage.

Almost beside her. Two steps away. Maybe less.

The silence stretched. Elara didn't breathe.

"Have you noticed anything... unusual here?"