“Vespera...”

A voice cuts through my thoughts, suddenly waking me from sleep. Groggy, I look around, convinced that someone must be nearby. But to my surprise, I am alone. Rubbing my eyes, I notice my hands look strange to me. My gaze shifts to the glowing evening sky, signaling that night is approaching.

Where am I? This is the royal garden, a place I last visited when I was a little girl. How can I be waking up here? I’ve been strictly forbidden to leave my room. Confused, I stretch my legs and suddenly realize they feel much shorter. With a sense of dread, I jump up but barely lift off the ground.

“I’m a child again”, I whisper in disbelief.

There’s no mirror, no reflection to reassure me. The tall trees of the royal garden block me from the outside world, as if I’m trapped in a dream. I haven’t been in this place for years, and the mysterious voice I just heard feels just as distant. This woman’s voice is warm, even though it should frighten me.

Exhausted, I drop to the ground and lean on my hands while the cheerful voices of the townspeople reach me from afar. They all worship my father, treating him as if he were more than just a man—as if he were untouchable. To them, the king is kind and selfless, always trying to do what’s best for his people. But none of them know that he keeps a daughter hidden behind castle walls. They have been told that the princess died along with my mother, the late queen Isilyn Valdyris . They mourned my death while I continue to live, invisible and forgotten.

But why am I here? Why in this place? I have never experienced the world outside the castle walls, yet I know almost every corner of the castle. What is my mind trying to tell me?

“Vespera... it is time.”

That voice. Again. I first heard it when my father remarried. Queen Mayyira, my stepmother, seems to be the reason for this voice. King Mukuta, my father, has never cared for me. I can hardly remember my mother well enough to know if she ever loved me. She died when I was two years old, and shortly after that, my father married again. With this new marriage, my half-brother, Crown Prince Yula, was born—and with him, I lost my claim to the throne. Now I am just a pawn to be married off to a foreign prince to have more heirs.

Did I know this as a child? Was I aware that my life was already decided and that I couldn’t change it?

“Vespera, you need to escape.”

The voice urges me to run away. But how can I do that? My door is always locked, and I’m not allowed to leave my room without company. Since the wedding, Queen Mayyira has put so many rules in place that restrict me in every way. She wants to see me suffer, I’m sure of it. Yet, to my father, she appears to be the perfect caring mother. In the kingdom, only my brother matters, and even the servants cannot reveal that I am still alive.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning strikes right in front of me, and I freeze. When I open my eyes, I find myself back in my room. The dream is over, but the lightning was real—it has pulled me back to the present, to the life I desperately want to escape. But time and again, I end up in the same place.

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I sit up and look out the window, where a storm is brewing. Beside my bed are the slippers I must wear at the queen’s command. But now I want to feel the cold floor under my feet, like the wet grass in the early morning, which I last experienced in my childhood.

Barefoot, I step to the window and lean out to gaze into the distance. The sound of thunder drowns out the silence that has accompanied me my entire life. What would happen if I jumped? What if I fell? But what if I could fly? That voice from my childhood—it can’t have been just a fantasy. And now I’ve heard it again in my dream. Still, there’s a void inside me.

Leaning my head against the wall, I gaze thoughtfully at the sky, which lights up every few seconds with flashes of lightning. In the chaos of the storm clouds, I suddenly see a figure that seems to be hovering in the air. Is that a person? But that can’t be—people can’t fly. We have healers and alchemists, but no mages. Who or what is that?

The figure raises its arms to the sky, and suddenly several bolts of lightning strike at once. Startled, I jump back, but my curiosity pulls me back to the window. I lean my head out, ignoring how high up my room is in the castle. I don’t care about death at this moment. It’s this unexplainable connection to the figure that drives me. It is here because of me.

It slowly turns its head, as if trying to look at me. But just before I can catch its gaze, I feel someone grab my nightgown and forcefully pull me back into the room. I hit the ground roughly, pain shooting through my back, and I see the angry face of my father.

“You should be glad you only landed on the floor!” His voice thunders. “Did you want to kill yourself? Have you lost all your senses? Should I now post guards in your room to protect you from your own foolishness?”

When did he come in? And why? We hardly ever cross paths, and even when we do, he ignores me.

My thoughts return to the figure in the storm. I rush to the window and look outside. The storm is still raging, but the figure is gone. My father grabs me firmly by the shoulders and drags me back into the room.

“I just saved you from certain death, and now you make the same mistake!” King Mukuta shouts angrily, his voice echoing in the room. The noise has drawn the servants, who now gather worriedly to check on the king. While he showers me with harsh words, the onlookers silently look away. I can’t tell if they feel pity or look down on me with disdain. It doesn’t matter—their eyes avoid me, as if my mere existence shames them.

After the king has vented his anger on me, Queen Mayyira finally enters the room. She glances at me briefly and barely lifts one corner of her mouth, a sign of her quiet satisfaction. Only I notice this fleeting gesture. No one else does.

“Get up, Vespera”, the king commands sharply, and without hesitation, I obey. What choice do I have? “You will soon be eighteen, and for this occasion, I am throwing a celebration tomorrow night. Important guests will come to see the princess.”

The princess whom everyone believes died years ago. How will he explain that?

“As far as I know, people think I’m dead, along with my mother,” I dare to say, looking at my father in confusion. “How will the kingdom react to my sudden return?”

“Your mother is here with us, Vespera,” he hisses, glaring at me with hatred. “Outsiders will be told that you have been living with your grandmother Gaina, far from the court, to know nothing of your origins. They will believe that we wanted you to become a good princess who would one day serve her husband faithfully.”

My “grandmother” Gaina? She is the mother of Queen Mayyira, with no blood relation to me. My father is doing everything he can to erase my biological mother’s existence.

“Tomorrow you will prepare properly for the evening”, he continues, placing a heavy hand on my shoulder. “It is a significant moment in the life of a princess.”

A warm, almost gentle smile spreads across his lips, making me uneasy. I have never seen him smile like that—not toward me. Still, I force myself to return his smile.

“Alright, Father”, I say firmly, with a hint of determination in my voice. “I will make you proud.”