The floorboards creaked beneath her bare feet as she tiptoed down the hallway, arms wrapped tightly around her small frame. The morning air in the estate was cold—colder than yesterday—and still, she didn't dare reach for the shawl draped on the chair. That belonged to her mother.
Saltanat stopped at the edge of the doorway. The heavy curtain swayed in the breeze that had slipped through a crack in the window. She could hear the soft clink of porcelain—tea being stirred, slow and rhythmic. Her mother was awake.
She didn't want to go in.
She never did.
But standing too long in the hallway would only make it worse.
Saltanat stepped inside, careful not to let the door creak behind her. Her head stayed bowed; eyes fixed on the polished floor. Her voice barely found its way out.
"Good morning... Mother."
There was a pause. A sip of tea. Then the voice—smooth, clipped, cool as ice.
"You're late."
"I—I'm sorry…"
"You're always sorry." Her mother's heels clicked as she stood. "Look at me."
Saltanat hesitated, then lifted her chin slowly. Her chestnut hair, tangled from sleep, clung to her cheek. Her golden eyes—too large for her face—met those of a woman who looked like a queen even in a nightgown. The woman's lips curled in something that might've been a smile.
"My Diamond," she said softly.
The word made Saltanat flinch. She didn't understand why she was called that. There was no shine in her. No sparkle. Just silence. Just shame.
Her mother's hand moved fast. Not a slap—worse than that. Her fingers gripped Saltanat's chin, forcing her head higher.
"You want to be a lady, and you don't even know how to stand," she hissed. "A Diamond must shine, not hide like a rat."
Saltanat's throat closed up. She wanted to say she wasn't a Diamond. She wanted to say she was just a girl.
But she only nodded. Because that's what she had learned.
You survive by being quiet.
By being small.
By being whatever her mother wanted her to be.
SO, THIS IS IT FOR NOW. I HAVE NO IDEA IF I WILL CONTINUE THIS AS I WILL BE FOCALISING SOME OF MY TIME ON "VEIL OF CRIMSON LOTUS" WHICH IS CONSTANTLY ON MY MIND AND WANTS TO BE SET FREE BUT THIS WILL ALWAY HAVE MY ATTENTION.