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SCENE: [ODILIA is looking out the window, pensive, worried, something weighing on her mind.]
ROSANNA: (offscreen) Odilia?
[ODILIA turns to look at ROSANNA waiting by the couch, she manages a smile]
ODILIA: Rosanna.
[ROSANNA knows her friend, she knows better than to believe the smile.]
ROSANNA: What is it?
[ODILIA crosses to the low table and hands ROSANNA the letter lying there.]
ROSANNA: The royal seal…
ODILIA: Read it.
[ODILIA sits at her couch and sips her wine, watching ROSANNA read. She sits slowly too as she reads aloud.]
ROSANNA: (reading aloud) “Dearest Odilia, In these uncertain times when I have more on my mind than ever, I find my thoughts turning to you more and more.”
(breaking off) Odilia, this seems personal…
ODILIA: Keep going.
ROSANNA: (reading aloud) “The loss of my beloved brother weighs heavily on me, nearly as heavily as that weight that I never thought to bear. As the nights grow longer, I have more time than ever to consider that which lays before me. Mon coeur, I long for your arms and for your advice as to what is next for me. For us. I must take the crown and my mother has warned me that the weight of it will change everything. I stand at the precipice of something new, knowing now more than ever I will need guidance. And so I have made a choice. The Longest Night celebrations will soon overtake the city but my heart is not in them. Instead, I will stand Cassiel’s Vigil through the night, praying for Elua’s guidance and blessing. I regret I cannot share the evening with you as I had wished but to that end I ask for your assistance. As I cannot attend the fete at Cereus House, go in my stead and speak with my voice and represent me among your peers and other guests-”
(breaking off) Odilia, this means something.
ODILIA: Yes, it does.
ROSANNA: Has he asked you to be….?
ODILIA: No. Not yet. I thought he might but then the plague and the loss of his brother…there was no time.
ROSANNA: (reading aloud) “I can trust this to no other for no other is the queen of my heart the way you are, no other knows my heart and mind the way you do. I have every faith in you and place my trust in you completely. I miss you and pray the spring will bring us together again. Yours ever devotedly, Gustav.”
[She sets the letter aside and looks at her friend. ODILIA is valiantly trying to keep her composure but ROSANNA knows her friend too well.]
ROSANNA: Are you alright?
[ODILIA stifles a laugh. ROSANNA takes her hand.]
ROSANNA: Are you ready for this?
ODILIA: I have to be.