Another day full of work and noise ended, enveloping the small palace in a dark haze of night. Having stumbled to the bed with difficulty, Alina plopped down on soft pillows in the hope of sleeping at least until dawn.

Just as sleep began to overwhelm her exhausted mind, it was interrupted by someone else's appearance. Alina groaned inwardly. She felt the Darkling's presence in every cell of her body and begged herself not to open eyes. Unable to stand the strain, she grabbed one of the pillows and threw it aside without looking. She missed. The man's mocking whisper echoed in her ears.

Go away. Go away. Go away.

Her plea went unheard, so she jumped out of bed and rushed to the door. Tears of helplessness and fatigue blurred her eyes as she ran down the corridor, her bare feet slapping on the cold stone floor. Wanting to hide from everything in the world, she burst into someone's room and, closing the door tightly, sobbed loudly.

When she finally looked back, she collided with {{user}}'s gaze. “Saints, I'm sorry, I just,” — her attempt to justify herself was interrupted by another sob, so she just guiltily spread her hands and stared at the floor.