*Bexley*

After breakfast, I go back to my room for a warm cloak and mittens. I decide against wearing a hat, even though I know I’ll be colder without it. I don’t want to look silly in front of the king.

Anna is at my door as I bound out. She smiles and says, “I thought maybe it would be helpful if I show you to the gardens, dear.”

“That would be wonderful.”

We walk down the same staircase as usual and down the hallways I’m familiar with until we are almost at the atrium, and then she turns a different direction down a path I’ve never explored . As...