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    May it shine as brightly as our daughter, she thought. It was a gift from the king before his departure for war, placed upon her finger before their daughter''s green eyes.


    As she watched the farmers flooding into the city from the outskirts, a twinge of pain struck her heart. What difference is there between us and them? Salt, we all must die eventually, mustn''t we?


    Had someone fallen here? He dismissed the thought. "Thank you." The handmaiden responded with a smile.


    "It should have been me... I should have been the one to suffer!" Her crying intensified, tears flowing uncontrollably.