It was still raining the following morning. Bran, seated in the smaller private dining room, sniffled occasionally as he reviewed a stack of parchments while eating breakfast. His reports to his superior, Lord Cai, seemed never-ending. He could not believe the maintenance of this diplomatic outpost required so much minutiae.

He heard a shuffling of bare feet on the rug and glanced up to see Speaker Belinda moving carefully into the room. She still wore the same shapeless gown and nothing else. Her white hair, now dry, was frizzy and unkempt.

Standing hastily, he bowed slightly and said, "Good morning, Speaker Belinda. I hadn--"

"Please," she interrupted as she moved carefully to one of the chairs, "no fuss. This is not an official meeting. I just wanted to apologize for our abruptne...

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