The next morning, the sky was clear and bright, washed clean by a night of quiet.
After packing their things, Zora and Prince Kael left the Imperial City. For neither of them, that land no longer held anything worth staying for. The academy's break was only a month, and they had already spent more than half of it here. It was time to return.
Zora's friends: Eric Welsh, Physician Storm, and Physician Silver all came to see them off. As they stood at the gate, watching the two mount their horses, a faint, unspoken feeling settled in their hearts. Somehow, it felt as though Zora would not be coming back again anytime soon.
"Take care," Eric Welsh said with a warm smile.
Zora nodded, her eyes gentle. With one last wave, she and Kael turned their horses and rode away, their figures slowly shrinking into the distance.
