Serpentia

Chapter 1: Serpentia

Snow had begun falling over Gregoria that evening.

It came down slowly at first, drifting through the darkening sky before settling over the imperial capital. White covered the tiled roofs of the palace, gathered along the stone courtyards, and clung to the bare branches of the ancient trees that lined the imperial gardens.

The great palace of Gregoria stood quietly beneath the winter sky.

Golden walls rose behind layers of snow, their usual brilliance muted by the cold. Lanterns burned along the palace corridors, their warm light spilling through the windows and onto the frozen courtyards.

Yet, far from the noise of the imperial court, one small residence remained unusually quiet.

Inside, a woman lay exhausted upon a bed.

Her name was Mira.

She was a palace maid.

Her dark hair clung loosely to her forehead, and exhaustion weighed heavily upon her face. Yet none of that mattered to her now.

In her arms rested a newborn child.

A little girl.

Mira stared down at her daughter as though she were afraid that looking away might somehow make her disappear.

The baby slept peacefully beneath a white cloth.

Mira slowly lifted one finger and touched the child's tiny hand.

The little fingers moved.

Then they curled around hers.

Mira's tired expression softened.

"Veyra..."

The name escaped her lips like a prayer.

She looked down at the little face again.

"Veyra Aurelia."

For several moments, the world outside seemed to disappear.

There was no imperial court.

No servants.

No titles.

No Emperor.

There was only a mother and her newborn daughter.

Then—

The door opened.

Mira's expression immediately changed.

An imperial eunuch entered the room, followed by two palace attendants.

Their clothing was formal, their expressions serious.

Mira instinctively pulled Veyra closer to her chest.

The eunuch stopped several steps from the bed.

"Is it a girl?"

Mira nodded.

"Yes."

The eunuch's eyes moved toward the newborn.

"The Emperor has been informed."

Mira's heart tightened.

"What did His Majesty say?"

The eunuch was silent for a moment.

Then he answered.

"She is the fourth-born."

Mira waited.

"And?"

"The Emperor acknowledges her imperial blood."

For the first time since they entered, relief appeared in Mira's eyes.

Her daughter had been acknowledged.

Perhaps that meant—

The eunuch continued.

"However, she will not be raised within the imperial palace."

The small smile disappeared from Mira's face.

"What?"

"The decision has already been made."

Mira stared at him.

"But she is his daughter."

Her voice trembled.

"She is the Emperor's daughter."

The eunuch lowered his eyes.

"I understand."

"No."

Mira shook her head.

"You don't."

She held Veyra tighter.

"I served His Majesty faithfully. I never asked for anything. I never demanded a title. I never asked to become part of the imperial family."

Her eyes filled with tears.

"How can they simply send her away?"

The eunuch remained silent.

Mira's voice became quieter.

"Where will she go?"

The answer came without emotion.

"The Cold Lands."

Mira froze.

For a moment, she seemed unable to breathe.

The Cold Lands.

A distant and forgotten region of Gregoria, far from the imperial capital.

The winters there were brutal. Villages were scattered across vast stretches of wilderness, and few people from the imperial court ever travelled that far north.

Mira looked down at Veyra.

"She's only a newborn."

No one answered.

Outside, the snow continued to fall.

The decision had already been made.

There would be no imperial ceremony.

No royal banners.

No procession through the capital.

No announcement that the Emperor's fourth-born daughter had been born.

Before dawn, Veyra would be gone.

Mira was given a few moments alone with her child.

She slowly moved toward the window.

Snowflakes drifted past the glass.

She sat down beside it and held Veyra against her chest.

The baby remained asleep.

Mira gently stroked her tiny cheek.

"I wanted you to grow up here."

Her voice trembled.

"I wanted you to see the palace."

She paused.

"I wanted you to know your father."

A tear slipped down her cheek.

She quickly wiped it away.

"Perhaps one day..."

She looked at Veyra.

"Perhaps one day you'll have a life of your own."

The baby stirred.

Mira smiled faintly.

Then something strange happened.

Veyra's fingers tightened around hers.

Mira looked down.

For a brief moment, the little girl's eyes opened.

Mira stared.

There was something about that gaze that made her heart stop.

It lasted only an instant.

Then Veyra's eyes closed again.

Mira remained still.

She didn't understand the feeling that had suddenly settled inside her.

Perhaps it was simply exhaustion.

Perhaps it was a mother's imagination.

She pushed the thought away.

"You'll be all right," she whispered.

Even though she wasn't sure she believed it.

The door opened.

An attendant stood outside.

"Time."

Mira closed her eyes.

She didn't move.

The attendant waited.

Finally, Mira looked down at her daughter one last time.

She kissed Veyra's forehead.

"Forgive me."

Her voice broke.

"I couldn't keep you here."

She held her daughter tightly for one final moment.

Then she slowly handed Veyra over.

The moment her arms became empty, Mira's breath caught.

"Veyra..."

The attendant turned away.

Mira watched helplessly as her daughter disappeared through the doorway.

The door closed.

Silence returned.

Mira remained beside the window.

Outside, snow covered the courtyard.

And somewhere beyond those palace walls, her daughter was already being carried away.

Before sunrise, the carriage left Gregoria.

There were no royal banners.

No soldiers riding beside it.

No musicians.

No announcement.

It was simply another carriage travelling north through the winter darkness.

Inside, Veyra slept peacefully beneath the white cloth.

The wheels rolled across the frozen road.

Behind them, the imperial palace slowly disappeared into the falling snow.

The carriage travelled farther.

And farther.

Until the lights of Gregoria were no longer visible.

Veyra knew nothing of the decision that had been made for her.

She knew nothing of the palace.

Nothing of the court.

Nothing of the blood running through her veins.

She only slept.

And as the carriage disappeared into the winter morning, the imperial palace returned to its usual silence.

The fourth-born daughter of the Emperor had been taken away.

No one knew when she would return.

No one knew who she would become.

And somewhere beyond the northern horizon, a life that no one in the imperial court had planned for was beginning.