Chapter 9: Between Two Worlds
482 Words
A gentle breeze brushed her face. The scent of lilies and old stone filled the air. Faint music echoed from somewhere distant—harps, flutes… whispers?
Jessie stirred.
Her lashes fluttered open, eyes squinting against the glow of candlelight reflecting off stained-glass windows. She was no longer in the grand hall. Velvet curtains framed the open windows, and the golden crown lay on a silver pillow nearby.
“She’s awake.”
The voice was soft—her father’s.
Jessie turned her head slowly. Her mother was holding her hand, eyes red from crying but smiling now. A royal physician stood nearby, nodding quietly, and stepping back.
“What… happened?” she whispered, her voice dry and hoarse.
“You fainted during the crowning, sweetheart,” her mother said gently, brushing the hair from Jessie’s forehead. “It’s the nerves, the excitement. You’ve been through so much lately.”
Jessie sat up, only to be held gently by her father.
“Easy, Jess. You don’t have to move yet.”
“Did I… ruin it?”
Her father chuckled sadly.
“No. You only made it more memorable. The people are worried, but we told them you only needed rest.”
Jessie leaned back into the pillows, mind racing.
It wasn’t just fainting.
It was like falling through time.
She had felt something—right before she collapsed. A vision? A whisper? She had seen… herself. But not as a princess. Not in silk and jewels. In a school uniform, under fluorescent lights, with Lily laughing beside her and Mike kicking a soccer ball.
Her heart ached for it.
“Dad…” she murmured. “What if I don’t belong here?”
Her father looked startled.
“Of course you belong here. You’re the princess of Carinthia. You’re my daughter.”
“No—I mean… I am, but sometimes it feels like… I’m only dreaming this.”
He paused.
There was something in his expression—hesitation. Like he knew something she didn’t.
Before he could speak, the door creaked open.
“Your Highness,” a voice said. Ed stepped into the room.
He looked different today—less polished, more real. His dark hair was slightly tousled, and he held a bouquet of wildflowers instead of royal roses.
“Forgive me. I heard you had awakened.”
He stepped closer, eyes searching hers.
“You gave us quite a fright.”
Jessie looked at him… and didn’t know how to feel.
This was Ed—the man she was married to. Or going to marry. Yet he felt like a character in someone else’s story.
“Do you remember the moment?” he asked.
“What moment?”
“Right before you fainted,” he said quietly. “You looked at me like you’d seen a ghost.”
Jessie stared at him.
She had.
But not his ghost.
Her own
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