The banquet settled into its familiar rhythm after my dance with Reika, the ebb and flow of conversation and music creating a backdrop of refined civilization. Yet I found my attention drawn repeatedly to her, standing near a cluster of Academy students who had approached her with the eager curiosity of youth recognizing greatness in their midst.
Reika looked as though her heart might burst from sheer joy. The smile that graced her features wasn't the practiced expression of nobility or the careful mask of diplomacy—it was pure, unguarded happiness. She didn't know how to manufacture false emotions; that sort of radiant contentment could only come from someone who had never dared hope to be truly seen, but now found herself bathed in light as if the sun itself had chosen to shine for her alone.
