The Capital of the Kingdom of Pasha
Regent Dowager Guinevere paced the gilded reception room with a face pale as a sheet. Her restless footsteps and anxious sighs filled the luxurious chamber, adorned with golden silk and deep crimson rugs. But the splendor of her surroundings did little to calm her nerves.
In the adjoining bedroom, her beloved son, King Alphonse II, slept soundly. The room reflected Guinevere's refined tastes—ivory-colored walls trimmed with gold leaf, a ceiling fresco of clouds and angels, and sunlight filtering through the kingdom's finest stained-glass windows, casting gentle hues across the room.
Clutching the hem of her elegant dress, Guinevere stopped abruptly as her elder brother, Chancellor Guinness, tried to console her. Twirling his meticulously groomed mustache with an air of affected calm, he said, "You mustn't worry so much. Good news is sure to come soon."
