”Long live the Queen.”

How absurd. To speak those words with such devotion, only to betray the oath I once demanded from others. I used to be a noble worth bowing to—someone who commanded reverence with a single look. The people loved me. Even the children. Their Queen.

So why…why does it all feel so far away now?

The maid stands a few steps behind me, silent as ever, her hands folded neatly at her waist. She’s been trained to be unseen, unheard—but I can feel her gaze on the back of my ruined reflection.

I try to ignore the tingling in my fingers, to laugh off the years carved into me, but the pain never fades. Not with her watching. Not with anyone watching.

They (scars) blaze across my skin like wildfire, running down my thighs, crawling along my face. “Ugly,” I call them.

“You know, young maiden…” I mutter absently, watching how her eyes flick away from my own in the mirror. “I once shone as brightly as you. Unmarked. Untouched.”

My hand drops to the swell of my stomach. The entire kingdom knows I carry the heir to their precious throne. That’s all they care about now. Not me. Not their Queen. Only the child who will one day replace me.

“When the child is born, take my bracelet south and sell it for poison.”

I carefully lower my fingers to trace the smooth surface of my jade bracelet— the only thing of mine that survived the accident.

“When the time comes…you will bring it to me.”