Chapter One

Kassandra von Gotthard sat peacefully at the edge of the lake in the Charlottenburger park, watching the water ripple slowly away from the pebble she had just thrown.  The long, graceful fingers held another small smooth stone, poised for a moment, and then threw it aimlessly into the water once again.  It was a hot, sunny day at the end of the summer and her golden strawberry hair fell in one long, smooth wave to her shoulders, pushed away from her face on one side with a single ivory comb.  The line of the comb in the smooth golden hair was as perfect and graceful as everything else about her face.  Her eyes were enormous and almond shaped, of the same rich blue as the bank of flowers behind her in the park.  They were eyes that promised laughter, and yet they whispered something tender at the same time; eyes that would caress and tease, and then grow pensive, as though lost in some distant dream as far removed from the present as the Charlottenburger Schloss just across the lake was distant from the bustling city.  The old castle sat timelessly, watching her, as though she belonged to its era rather than her own.

Lying on the grass at the edge of the lake, Kassandra looked like a woman in a painting or a dream, her delicate hands sifting gently through the grass, looking for another small pebble to throw.  Nearby, the ducks were waddling into the water as two small children clapped their hands with glee.  Kassandra watched them, seeming to search their faces for a long moment, as they laughed and ran away.

"What were you thinking just then?" The voice at her side pulled her from her reverie, ...