Chapter 1: The Caged Princess
237 Words
The Royal Palace of Eldoria
The golden chandeliers cast a warm glow over the grand ballroom, where nobles danced and drank as if war wasn’t looming beyond the castle walls. Princess Seraphina sat stiffly at the long dining table, her fingers clenched in her lap. Tonight was supposed to be a celebration—her engagement to King Alistair of Valmor, the man she would marry in two days.
Alistair, seated beside her, leaned in and whispered, “You look beautiful tonight, my dear. Enjoy it while you can.”
Seraphina turned to him, her stomach tightening. There was something unsettling in his tone, something dark in his cold gray eyes.
Across the table, her father, King Edwin, laughed loudly with the Valmorian nobles, oblivious to his daughter’s dread.
Seraphina knew this marriage wasn’t about love. It was about power. Eldoria was weak, its army crippled by years of war. Alistair had promised protection, but at what cost?
Later that night, unable to shake the feeling of unease, Seraphina wandered the halls. That’s when she heard voices—her father and Alistair speaking in hushed tones.
“Once the marriage is done, she’ll serve her final purpose,” Alistair said.
“And then?”
“Then, she dies. A tragic accident, of course.”
Seraphina felt the world tilt beneath her feet. Her heart pounded violently against her ribs.
She had to run. Before it was too late.
- Writer
