She walks alone through the town, along the water.

The sun lies low, its slanted rays filling the air with gold, bathing everything in an enchanted stillness. The world feels frozen in time — the moment just before something grand is bound to happen. Something adventurous. Something romantic.

The moment before the story begins.

Eliora imagines all that could be in this place of quiet beauty and suspended promise. The lives that must exist here, just beyond reach. Like a distant clarion call, she feels the pull of adventure in her soul, yet still waits for the sound to pierce the air in the real world. Another world seems only one step away.

And she dreams of romance. Of marriage.

A handsome prince would emerge, speak her name, and take her hand. She would stand dressed in a splendid wedding gown, veiled in white — her day remembered throughout the kingdom.

The moment stretches on.

Minutes draw into hours beside the mirror-still water.

She is ready. Waiting.

Now, not knowing whether she is hopeful or doubting.

Lingering.