Introduction:
Ingrid stared at the beautiful girl reflected in the mirror. She tried to recall how they would often describe the girl in front of her. ‘A woman with a face that even the gods would envy.’
Her lips curled up, and the girl in the mirror followed her movement.
The girl she sees is always complimented on her smile. Wherever she goes, people flutter around her, desperate to see her lips bloom into a grin.
“My Lady, which shoe will you be wearing today?” asked the maid, who has been patiently waiting for Ingrid by the side. Her master has a habit of staring at her own reflection during the early mornings before doing anything else. She doesn’t think much of her master's habit, though. If she has such a face, she’ll probably do the same.
“Lily, do you know Narcissus?”
Lily did not answer, knowing it was probably a rhetorical question.
She and her master are of the same age. She was born in their household and has been beside her mistress ever since she can remember. So you could say she knew her mistress more than anyone else.
“Narcissus is a figure from mythology whom they say is very handsome. He was so handsome that one day he saw his own reflection in a pool of water and fell in love with himself,” Ingrid narrated. She tore her eyes from the mirror and walked towards her closet, where a variety of shoes were being displayed.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“I always thought that such a myth was ridiculous.”
Ingrid grabbed a pair of black shoes and handed them to her maid. She sat on a chair and raised her slender feet. Lily then knelt on the ground and gently put the shoe on her snow white foot. Every movement was very careful and gentle, like she was handling fragile glass.
As the sole daughter of the Grand Duke of Lennox, Ingrid was the apple of her father's eye. Her unparalleled beauty, coupled with her father's immense influence, commanded both reverence and fear from those around her.
Rumors swirled that even the Emperor of Learia, her father's brother, held a special fondness for her, as evidenced by the lavish gifts that were given to her, regardless of occasion. As a result, no one dared cross her path.
With her loving and rich family and having such beauty that can melt even the hardest of hearts, one could say that she is indeed living the perfect life.
“Lily, do you think such a myth is true?”
Lily raised her head to look at her mistress, just to see the latter staring at a distance. There was a tinge of loneliness in her beautiful emerald eyes.
The sun’s rays made her visage glow. At that very moment, she looked like a goddess that had descended from the earth.
A lonely goddess at that.
To the outside world, Ingrid's life appeared to be a picture of perfection. However, Lily knew the truth that lay beneath the surface. Ingrid's life was a cage, a prison of isolation and loneliness.
Like a delicate flower in a glass case, Ingrid was admired from afar, her beauty a source of fascination and awe. Yet no one dared to get too close to her. Most deemed themselves unworthy of being graced with her friendship and companionship. And yet those who do don't exactly see her as a human but as a tool—a trophy that they could boast about towards others.