Meanwhile, in the Moonlight Kingdom, darkness had settled over the palace like a heavy blanket. The typical bustle of evening activities had been replaced by an eerie quiet, as if the very walls were holding their breath in anticipation of what was to come.
Rose moved through the shadows with practiced ease, her steps silent against the stone floor. The stable was largely deserted at this hour, with only a single drowsy guard posted at the entrance. She waited patiently until his head nodded forward in sleep before slipping past him.
'Forty-seven seconds,' she counted in her head. 'That's how long it took him to drift off. The palace security has grown complacent in peacetime.'
The horses shifted restlessly as she entered, sensing her presence. Rose approached a sleek chestnut mare in the corner stall—not the fastest in the royal stables, but steady and with good endurance. The kind of horse no one would immediately miss.
