Chapter 1: The Last Promise
"Mother, when are you coming back?"
My mother looked at me, her smile soft yet bittersweet as she held my hand. "Soon, my child, soon."
I searched her eyes, hoping to find reassurance. "Please bring me gifts, Mother." A tremor ran through her hand, and in an instant, she hugged me tightly, pressing a kiss to my forehead.
"I will, my dear. I promise." Her words filled me with warmth, but as she faded away, that warmth turned to a chilling emptiness. She vanished from my life, leaving only the echo of her promise—when was soon?
The sudden knock on my door jolted me from my thoughts.
"Come in."
"Princess, it's time," my maid said, her voice heavy with sorrow.
"I suppose it is," I replied, forcing a smile. She looked at me with sad eyes, and together we walked to the door.
Before stepping out, I turned back one last time to my room. It felt surreal—this was my home for nineteen years, filled with memories. The bookshelf on the right, the closet on the left, the vibrant red and gold that had always surrounded me—they would soon belong to someone else. A wave of nostalgia washed over me as I stepped into the unknown.
The path to the throne room was a blur. My heart raced as I recalled the day my father had framed me for a crime I didn't commit. Shame clung to me like a heavy cloak as I recalled the jeers of the crowd and the garbage thrown in my direction.
As I stood before my father, the guards surrounding me, his voice boomed. "From now on, you will be forgotten like your mother. You will have no place in the heavenly empire until my death."