Prologue
Fear. That was the first indication something was different that night. The chill down your spine, the need to convince yourself that the shadows weren’t actually moving, and it was just your imagination. But they were moving. Oh, they were moving alright. A little girl awoke from her sleep. For some reason, she couldn’t move. She was petrified. And then the screams began.
Shrill and full of pain, they continued for what seemed like hours. The girl still couldn’t move, fixating her eyes on a spot of darkness in the distance. It was almost as if she were in a trance and nothing would ever wake her. She just watched the nothingness as the screams continued. But they didn’t register. The girl couldn’t hear them.
And then they stopped. Almost as if someone had taken a pair of scissors and cut the chords in their throat. The girl just stared. The darkness was still. And then something awoke inside of her. She rushed out of her four-poster bed, burst out of her chambers and ran down the deserted stairs, her little feet bare as she stepped on the cold marble. Normally she would have complained about the cool stone, but tonight was different. There was no one to complain to.
She searched around the mansion, looking for any signs of the life that had been present just a few hours prior, but there was nothing to be found. She had been abandoned, forgotten. At least that’s what she believed. After thoroughly inspecting every room, she returned to her bedroom, where she hid under the covers and wept herself to sleep.
The next day was the same. Everyday was the same. She made sure to always be presentable, as her mother had always told her. “Even in the darkest days, make sure you look your best. You have to uphold our family name, darling.” This seemed like a pretty bleak situation to her, so she put on her dress and did her hair with a bow on one side, as her mother used to do. She couldn’t be bothered with her shoes, and they gave her blisters anyway.
After getting ready, she went to the pantry to scavenge for her breakfast. A glass of milk, a piece of toast with strawberry jam. That was what she had normally, but today she was feeling special. After getting out a stool to stand on, she reached as best she could to the top shelf, where all the toffee squares were kept for birthdays and other celebrations.
She struggled a few minutes, but eventually found the jar. The girl stepped down and went to the dining table were she had all her meals. She opened the lid and stuck her entire hand into the jar, grabbing a handful of toffees.
“Happy Birthday to me…”, she started to sing.
As the tune came from her lips, a tear began to fall down her face. How did this happen to her? Why was no one coming to fetch her? Where was her mother? All these questions ran circles around her head as she stuffed toffees into her mouth as she bawled at her predicament. Twenty toffees later, she fell into a sleep, resting her head on the hard wood that was her dining table.
She woke in a different room. Scared, she cautiously got out of the bed she found that she had been bathed and changed into a silk nightgown, nothing like the one she had back home. This one looked very pretty, with embroidered flowers all around the rim and the sleeves. She played with the dress and twirled around to see in properly. She looked around the room to find a mirror, but there was no luck.
Finding nothing of immediate interest in the room, she pushed open the door to find herself in a different room, but this one full of servants she had never seen before.
“Excuse me, do you have any idea where I am?” the girl asked a particular servant that had stood up when she entered the room.
“You’re in the palace, my dear. And the king would like to speak to you.”
