There was a party.
A royal sleep over party. The princesses sung and giggled among-st themselves, while they had the edibles the celebrant had prepared on her behalf by her father.
The celebrant and her half sister were the center of the celebration. The merriness lasted all through the night, until it was time for bed. The only deal with her father, the King, on the sleep over was that once it was time for bed, she and her friends must sleep in their prepared guests rooms so they could rest well before morning.
And so, the girls giggled their way through the halls, escorting each other to their rooms; not long after the servants who were waiting for them, assisted them all in freshening up for bed Soon, they were all fast asleep.
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The bed was big, but her vision was blurry. She heard the soft click of her door shutting, pulling her further into consciousness. Her eyes fluttered open, landing on the ceiling.
The ceiling looked... different.
This isn't my room.
The thought sent a chill through her. She tried to sit up, but the moment she moved, sharp pain shot through her entire body. A gasp left her lips as the ache deepened, making her limbs feel weak and useless.
What's happening? What's going on? Where am I?
Forcing herself to move, she glanced around the unfamiliar room. This wasn't her bed, neither was this her room. Panic swelled in her chest while she wondered where she was and how did she got here.
With great effort, she stumbled her way toward the window, her fingers gripping the stone sill for support. Her vision wavered, but what she saw outside sent her heart plummeting.
A castle.
A different castle with disparate scenery.
And in the distance, rolling past the grand gates, was a royal carriage. Her stepfather's crest gleamed under the moonlight.
He was leaving!
Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision further. Pain, confusion, and something deeper—something lost—twisted inside her.
Her legs gave out, and she slid against the wall, crumpling to the cold floor. Her mind scrambled for answers, forcing itself to remember what happened. But the harder she tried, the more it felt like she was grasping at something just beyond reach. A dull ache pressed against her skull. The pain in her body intensified, making her dizzy.
And then, there was her heart—aching, breaking—for reasons she didn't even understand.
She let out a shaky breath, then another, until a sob escaped her lips.
"Why?" she wondered. Why am I crying?
She wanted to stop, to pull herself together. But she couldn't. The grief inside her was too heavy, too overwhelming.
Then—
A soft breeze from the open window stirred the papers on a nearby desk. One sheet lifted into the air, floating down to where she knelt.
She stilled.
Her tear-streaked face turned toward the paper, her trembling fingers reaching for it. The moment she read the words, her breath caught in her throat.
A marriage certificate.
Her name was there.
And beside it— a stranger's?
She blinked hard, but the letters didn't change.
It was her signature, her marriage to someone she had never met!
Her fingers went numb, the paper slipping from her grip. Her chest tightened as her head spun. The world around her blurred and the weight of it all dragging her into the darkness of unconsciousness once more.
Not long after, the door creaked open, and a strange weird sound crawled around by the door. The snarl was of a creature unfamiliar. Anyone nearby would have been awoken with fear and concern for their lives. The snarl continued with its owner static by the door. Following was the bubbling sound of it changing its form.
In a flash, a thick black shapeless crawling venom skipped from the door to the edges of the walls, as it crawled around the room. Its body surrounded with a thick gray smoke that hovered around its formlessness, didn't leave its side as it moved quicker than the eyes could capture.
Like a shapeless demon, it hovered above her while crawling and hanging on the ceiling, where she lay below.
It screeched! Vibrating like a maniac when it stopped suddenly. It waited a moment, lowering poignantly. Stretching out to touch her, her breath shuddered, instantly making her whole body shudder too. The sound of her breath sounded like she had cried herself to sleep on the floor?
Confused, it retracted, skipping and crawling its way out the door rapidly. And then, the bubbling sound was heard again. But this time, a man stepped inside very very calmly.
He halted, standing frozen for a moment as if caught off guard by the sight before him.
His gaze fell on her crumpled form for a short moment.
His sharp dead gray eyes flickered with something unreadable. Then, without hesitation, he crossed the room with strangely calm strides. Kneeling beside her, he scooped her up effortlessly with his gloved hands, lifting her as if she weighed nothing.
Her warmth pressed against his cold skin, while he carried her back to the massive bed, lowering her gently onto the soft sheets.
For a long moment, he just stared at her.
She looked sad in her sleep. His eyes caught a tear trying to escape the side of her eye, making him frown with questions only his mind knew of. Strands of hair framed her delicate face, while the latter spread across the pillow. Her lips were parted slightly, and the sound of her crying escaped her lips. Soon after, her expression was lost in some unknown dream in which she was afraid.
He watched, amused, yet perplexed. He attempted to touch her hand, when she slowly calmed down, looking a bit at peace while fast asleep.
A silent unconscious sigh escaped him as he returned his hand back to himself. Just then, his gaze shifted. His sharp eyes landed on the document lying on the floor, and his expression darkened.
Slowly, he stood, and his attention drew to the window. His jaw clenched as he caught sight of the carriage, now barely visible through the trees.
His fingers curled into fists. Without another word, he picked up the marriage certificate, his grip tightening around the edges before he turned and strode out of the room. His footsteps, questionable.
Outside, the night remained calm, but it was just a mirage of the tension that went on in the castle.