I stood before the gilded mirror, its edges traced with golden vines and delicate carvings of lilies. The reflection that stared back at me was everything a perfect princess was meant to be, poised, composed, untouchable. My posture was flawless: head held high, spine straight, hands folded neatly in front of me. my dark hair had been carefully tied back with a silver ribbon, not a strand out of place. My face bore no emotion, no crack in the mask of royal grace I had learned to wear since childhood.
But beneath the surface, my heart fluttered.
A soft exhale escaped my lips as I turned toward the small table beside me. resting atop it was a single rose, no ordinary bloom, but one of crystalline beauty, clear as glass and glowing faintly in the morning light. I reached for it with reverent care, cradling the fragile stem between my gloved fingers. As I lifted it closer, the faintest scent kissed my nose, cool, sweet and strangely otherworldly.
A smile, rare and gentle, curved on my lips.
The Crystal Rose.
Said to be the rarest flower in the world, it bloomed only once every few years within the palace gardens. Legends whispered that those who stumbled upon it were destined for something great. Chosen by fate, kissed by fortune. But there was a catch, it was impossibly delicate. A single careless touch or drop to the ground, and it would shatter into a thousand glimmering pieces.
And yet… today, I had found it.
With the rose cradled protectively in my hands, I turned and dashed through the halls, my heels skimming over the polished marble floors. Sunlight poured through the stained-glass windows, painting the corridor with fractured rainbows. My heart pounded not from the run, but from the hope blooming wildly in my chest.
I stopped before the grand double doors of the emperor's office, my father's sanctuary. They towered above mem carved from mahogany and etched with the royal crest. Two guards stood stationed at either side, unmoving like statues, their spears crossed before the entrance.
They didn't look at me.
They never did.
Still, I stepped forward with a bright smile.
"I'd like to see his majesty," I said, my voice carefully polite, even as excitement tingled in my tone. "Just for a moment. I want to show him something."
One of the guards, the older one with the scar over his left brow, finally turned to glance down at me. his eyes were steely, and his voice colder than the marbled floor.
"His majesty is in council. Return later."
The words cut, though they were nothing new. I swallowed them with a nod, forcing my smile to remain. "Please… just one minute. I promise. It's really important."
He didn't flinch.
I felt the familiar ache press against my ribs, the bitter weight of rejection lingering like a bruise. But just as the other guard shifted, his lips parting—perhaps to shoo me away—the doors suddenly creaked open from within.
Light flooded out into the hall, and I blinked up in surprise as the figure of the emperor appeared before me.
My father…
My breath caught.
Tall and imposing, dressed in royal black and crimson, he stood like a god carved from stone. His sharp golden eyes, the same shade as mine, swept over me with unreadable precision. I felt a rush of emotion well in my chest, hope, fragile and trembling.
"Father!" I called, stepping forward with the rose held out in both hands. "Look! I found it in the garden, it's a crystal rose! I wanted to give it to you…"
My smile widened, but my voice trembled at the end. I lifted my gaze to his, eyes silently begging for warmth, for pride, for anything at all.
He looked down at me with an expression that made my heart still.
There was no joy in his gaze. No flicker of surprise or recognition. Just cold indifference, veiled behind the stoicism of a ruler who had long since sealed off his heart.
Then I saw her.
A girl stepped beside him, clinging softly to his arm.
She looked to be around my age, perhaps even the same. Her eyes—crystalline blue with the hint of purple below, just like mine and father's—glinted with concern as she glanced up at the emperor. But her hair was the deepest black, a shimmering waterfall down her back, tied with blue ribbon. She wore a delicate lilac dress embroidered with peonies, and on her face an innocence so carefully crafted it made my chest tighten.
"Father," she said gently, her voice like soft rain. "is something wrong?"
My world stilled.
Father?
She called him father.
And he didn't correct her.
His eyes locked with mien for a fleeting moment. There was no warmth in them, no flicker of recognition or even irritation. Just pure, detached indifference.
Then he spoke, and the world tilted.
"I don't need anything from you."
His voice was low, sharp like a blade unsheathed, slicing straight through my chest. But before I could even react, he added, colder than winter winds.
"And from now on, never show your face to me. I will make sure of it."
For a moment, time stopped.
My breath hitched. The crystal rose trembled in my hands. My fingers clenched around it, desperate to hold onto something—anything—that could keep this moment from collapsing into a nightmare.
He turned then, away from me, away from the little girl he once called daughter. I watched, numb and disbelieving, as he glanced down at the girl onto his arm.
A smile curved his lips.
Soft, gentle, real.
It was not the trained expression he gave during court meetings, nor the tight-lipped nods he sometimes offered foreign guests or even to me. No, this was different. There was affection in his eyes when he looked at her.
And it broke me.
Who is she?
Why her? Why not me?
Is she… my sister?
My heart squeezed painfully, like shards of glass crushing inward with every beat. I felt sick—like the world was playing a cruel joke and I was the only one who didn't understand the rules.
"W-Wait!" my voice cracked as I stumbled forwards.
I dropped to my knees, the crystal rose falling from my hands and hitting the marble floor.
I wrapped my arms around his leg, desperation taking over. My tears blurred everything, but I didn't care. I held on tightly, as if letting go would mean falling into a void I could never return from.
"Please, please don't push me away," I cried. "I don't know what I did wrong, but I swear I'll do better. I'll be a perfect daughter, I promise!"
My voice was hoarse with pleading, my small frame trembling from the wight of my sobs. "I can change! I can make you proud! Just give me another chance!"
But he didn't even look at me.
The guards were already moving. They grabbed my arms, their grip like iron. I struggled against them, clinging to his leg with all the strength I had left.
"I'm begging you! don't throw me away!"
He didn't speak.
He didn't blink.
He simply turned and walked away, stepping out of my hold as if I were no more than a stain on his robes.
The guards dragged me back, but I fought to keep my eyes on him. And then I saw her—that girl—glancing back at me from behind his shoulder, her expression unreadable. She looked down at me as if I were some pitiful creatures on display. But her crystal eyes held no warmth, no empathy.
And then, just before the heavy doors closed, I caught a glimpse of someone else inside the room.
My breath caught in my throat.
My brother.
He was standing near father's desk, frozen. His face, once filled with soft smiles and laugher when we were younger, now wore a quiet grief. His eyes met mine, and my heart surged.
"Brother!" I screamed, reaching out toward him with a trembling hand. "Please! look—I brought you the crystal rose! I found it for you! just for you!"
The guards tried to silence me, but I kept crying out, louder and louder, my throat raw with desperation.
"Please talk to me! tell me what I did wrong! Why wont you look at me for ONCE!!?"
But he didn't answer.
He only looked away further.
As I he couldn't bear to see me like this.as if he didn't have the power to change anything.
And then, the door closed.
The lock clicked with a finality that made my knees buckle.
The guards dragged me down the hall like I was nothing but a burden. Then, without care, they shoved me to the floor. My knees scraped against the stone tiles, and I collapsed, my palms hitting the cold ground.
They walked away without a word.
I stayed there, crumpled, my chest heaving with broken sobs.
The hallways stretched endlessly before me, silent and empty. No one came. No one offered a hand or a whisper of comfort. I pressed my face into the floor, my tears soaking into the polished marble.
"Please…" I choked. "Someone… please…"
I cried until my voice gave out.
I cried until my lungs burned and my vision blurred.
I cried hoping—praying—that father would come storming out, his face twisted in regret, saying it was all a misunderstanding. That it was a test. That he still loved me.
I cried hoping my brother would rush to my side, wrap me in his arms like he used to when I had nightmares, and tell me everything would be okay.
But no one came.
Only silence answered me.
Silence… and the faint glimmer of broken crystal pieces scattered on the floor beside me, what was left of the rose I had so proudly found? What was left of the love I had clung to all my life.
I curled into myself, hugging my knees tightly.
It was so cold.
And I was so very alone.
I don't remember how I got back to my room.
Perhaps the guards had tossed me here too, like some discarded thing, no longer worth a glance. My limbs moved without thought as I stepped across the polished floor, my legs still trembling from crying.
The door shut quietly behind me.
The silence was crushing.
I made my way to the terrace, the one place where I could always breathe, where the stars never judged, and the moon never turned away. I stepped into the cold night air, the gentle breeze brushing against my cheeks, sticky with dried tears.
Above, the moon hung low in the sky, pale and distant. I tilted my head, staring at with red-rimmed eyes, the tears refusing to stop even now.
So beautiful yet so far away.
Just like him.
I looked down on my hands.
The crystal rose.
Once dazzling, now dull in the moonlight. A flower that held no meaning anymore. A gift turned worthless.
I tightened my grip on it. Its thorns bit into my skin. I gripped it tighter. The pain was sharp, but grounded me. blood welled up from my palms, warm and crimson, dripping down the fragile stem like a river of sorrow.
Still, I didn't let go.
Instead… I broke it.
A sharp crack rang through the air. And then another. And another. I snapped the stem in two. Then the petals, the leaves. I shattered it with shaking hands, piece by piece, until the rose lay in ruins across the marble floor, glittering shards like broken glass soaked in blood.
One fragment caught the moonlight, long, jagged, cruelly beautiful.
I reached for it.
The cold edge kissed my skin. I place it right in front of my throat.
And them—
I woke up.
A sharp gasp tore from my throat as I sat upright in bed.
My heart pounded so fast, it felt like it might burst out of my chest. My breaths came in short, panicked gulps, each one harder than the last. My nightdress clung to my skin, drenched in cold sweat as my hands trembled.
And I saw it… the butterfly, resting on my right hand.
"What was that?" I could barely whisper the words. "It felt like I am watching a movie of… my life."
Another nightmare of the future? But this time it's different.
Before I could gather my thoughts, a voice cried out from nearby.
"Your highness!"
Amy.
She was standing near the window, looking so pale. Her hands trembled as they clutched the edge of the blanket. Behind her, several maids and guards stood frozen, some with hands over their mouths, other with wide, surprised eyes.
They looked as if they had seen a ghost.
For a moment, I did not understand.
"Tell his majesty and his highness the princess had awakened!" Amy shouted, her voice breaking with emotion.
The maids did not waste a second.
They fled the room to summon the emperor and the prince.
The room fell quiet again.
Amy turned back to me; eyes glassy with tears. She rushed to my side and knelt down beside the bed, her hands gently resting on my shoulders.
"I'm… I'm so glad you're awake. I was so afraid…"
Her voice cracked at the end, and she pulled me into a careful embrace, mindful not to startle me.
I didn't know why… but I let the warmth of her arms surround me. my body still shook, my chest rising and falling as if I were running from something that chased me through a thousands lifetimes.
"What happened? I whispered hoarsely, clutching the bedsheet tightly in my fists. "Why are you all so shock?"
Amy pulled back just enough to look into my face.
"you've been asleep for three days, ever since the emperor found you," she said gently.
My eyes widened.
"Three days?"
Before I could ask more, I heard hurried footsteps echoing from the corridor. The pounding of boots. The swing of the heavy double doors.
And the, he appeared.
The emperor.