When Aurora heard that she had been summoned for an evening soiree, she was a bit confused. She didn’t think there was a reason to hold a party, but when she asked Orion, he reminded her that it was her birthday.

Right. She was turning… 26?

Aurora shook the thought away as she exited her room, properly dressed for a small yet elegant gathering and ready to ignore her problems for a few hours.

She walked alongside Orion and asked, “Will Killian be there?”

Orion paused, “... Perhaps.” he seemed hesitant, “The queen has done many… questionable things for the sake of our son. She doesn’t trust anyone but herself around him. Now that you’re yourself again, though, maybe she’ll start to loosen her hold on everything.”

Aurora hummed, eager to see her child again but not wanting to anger her mother like before. She spoke softly, suddenly vulnerable, “Do you think everything will be alright?” Something told the princess that there was still more she was missing, but she supposed it was due to losing 10 years’ worth of memories.

Orion squeezed her hand gently and Aurora was startled that she hadn’t even noticed he was holding it, “We’ll make sure everything is made right,” he paused, “Remember that I’m by your side if you need me.”

Aurora felt a small smile creep onto her face and she reveled in the feeling of being cared for, “And if I can help with anything, let me know.”

He smiled back and cleared his throat, looking away, “It might take a while for me to get used to that…”

Aurora tilted her head in confusion but just smiled as they made their way to the gathering.

Maybe everything really would be okay.

She tried to ignore the pit in her stomach.

When the two entered the big ballroom, the princess instinctively began to make her way to the smaller chair beside her mother’s throne. Orion went to follow her, but Aurora spoke, “If you’d rather be mingling, you can. I need to speak to my mother anyway. I don’t think she feels like I’m back yet considering we have hardly spoken.”

Orion paused, looking like he wanted to object. When he looked into the princess’ eyes, however, he sighed, looking away, “There are a few people I’ve been meaning to speak to…” He looked back at Aurora, “Are you sure that you’ll be alright alone?”

Aurora nodded, “It’s only my mother,” but even as she said this aloud, the words were less than comforting and Orion’s gaze lingered on her as she made her way to where her mother sat.

She bowed to the queen and took her seat, “Mother,” she said in greeting.

“Hello darling,” her mother responded, voice sounding void again, “I hope you’ve sorted yourself by now?”

Aurora nodded.

“Good, we can carry on our normal weekly proceedings then,” her cold gaze locked on Aurora, “I trust that you’ll keep yourself in order?”

The princess nodded again and was relieved when the queen looked away.

They sat in silence for a moment before Aurora dared to break it, “Mother,” she began, “The kingdom is… cold now,” she swallowed, “Why?”

The queen looked at her daughter, eyebrows raised, “Darling, you know why.”

“Well, yes…” the princess spoke, unsure, “but are there not other ways to protect my son?”

The queen was silent and when Aurora finally looked at her, she found herself stuttering out, “I apologize, Mother, I did not mean to question your decisions,” She wondered if she should say more, but knew it was wise to not fumble through a half-baked apology. Instead, she ventured, “How do the people fare?”

The queen finally looked away and Aurora released a breath. Her mother’s tone was emotionless as she replied, “They are ungrateful and restless as always,” she looked at her daughter again, “Though I do wonder why you are suddenly so interested,” Aurora tried not to sink back, “Do you not know what has been happening in your own kingdom? I did not think to ask before since I was glad at your return to yourself, but…”

Aurora broke eye contact first, looking out into the small crowd gathered, “I did not have the energy to notice my surroundings for years, Mother. I am finally able to be myself again because of Orion and my son. Now I am interested in the state of our kingdom because you raised me to care about the people,” she tried not to think about all the times her mother had placed the people’s needs before her own. She’d felt bitter for so many years but now realized that her mother was right.

Had she truly grown out of her teenage selfishness overnight?

The queen hummed looking ahead, still oddly emotionless, “I did teach you that, didn’t I?” she scoffed, “What a foolish way of thinking I had.”

Aurora snapped her head up to look at her mother, “What do you mean?” she tried not to notice the way her mother’s eyes changed again.

“Darling,” the queen began, “I thought of the people far too much. I thought that it was my duty to protect them over my own and my family’s well-being.”

Aurora hesitated to speak, not wanting to set her mother off. But she needed to ask, “Is it not?”

The queen threw her head back and laughed, causing the princess to jump slightly and several heads to turn and look at the queen, before quickly looking away.

Aurora did not notice their fearful expressions.

“My dear,” her mother began with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, “I am queen. The people live to serve me.”

Aurora’s mouth went dry.

“I wasted many years following the views of my father: that the people mattered more than anything,” she scoffed, “He was so wrong.”

Aurora shrunk a bit as her mother turned to her, a suddenly gentle expression on her face.

“Dear, I realized that family matters most over everything,” the princess looked into her mother’s eyes when the queen reached out to gently stroke her cheek, “I let you fade away once and I will not make the same mistake again. We will live happily together,” she looked out over the crowd, “Nobody can destroy that.”

Aurora was frozen, unsure what to say as she looked into her mother’s eyes and saw… nothing.

The queen spoke words that would’ve made her teenage self cry with happiness, but something about her mother just didn’t feel right. She seemed… unstable.

They sat in silence for a moment before the queen spoke again, “You asked why I froze the kingdom?” The queen looked lovingly at her daughter, a serene smile on her lips as if she wasn’t talking about ruining the lives of thousands of her citizens, “I did it for you.”

Aurora tried not to show the horror on her face.

“The day you gave birth to Killian, I saw you look at that beautiful baby boy and,” she paused, hand resting on Aurora’s leg, “I saw the light return to your eyes for just a moment. I cried with happiness and realized that your essence and joy traveled to that baby boy and you would return to yourself if I just kept him safe,” She looked serene but Aurora felt anything but safe, “I knew then that I’d do anything to protect my family.”

Aurora remained silent, trying not to be overwhelmed by her mother’s deranged ideas. Maybe her consciousness had recognized her child. She had felt a bond with her son before she’d even met him, but the princess knew that everything else her mother had said was just a shallow defense for the reason she’d been acting so impulsively. Had she been convincing herself that she was doing virtuous things? For how long had she told herself this was all for Aurora’s sake?

The princess watched the crowd of people mingle, this time noticing the many fearful and bitter glances at her mother.

Did the people hate their queen now?

Did her mother know?

Aurora felt like she had sunken into sand. Her mother had always been loved by her people. She had always put their needs first and had been a gracious queen. Had all that truly changed? To her, it felt so sudden, but she wondered how long the process had actually taken.

The princess stood, smiling at her mother, excusing herself to go find Orion.

She felt her mother’s eyes watching her as she moved away.

Aurora found her husband easily. She figured he must’ve been keeping an eye on her and the queen because he met her not too far from the stage, taking her arm in his hand, “Are you alright?” he asked gently.

Aurora wasn’t sure, so she just nodded.

Orion didn’t quite look convinced as he said, “Well this party seems to be going smoothly. I was a bit worried since sometimes your mother has…” he paused, searching Aurora’s face, “distasteful entertainment at these gatherings. It seems she is in good spirits tonight.”

Aurora wondered what he meant by that, but before she could ask, the lights were dimming and a spotlight shone on the queen as she stood.

The princess felt sudden tension in the air as her mother’s voice projected over the small crowd, “Thank you all for joining us tonight to celebrate my wonderful daughter. She is the light of my world and has done nothing but bring me joy. You all know I’d do anything to protect her,” she looked into the darkness, no doubt searching for a glimpse of the princess, “As such, before we begin with the true festivities, we all have some business to attend to,” Aurora glanced at Orion who cursed under his breath, “You all are very important people that help make running this kingdom possible,” she smiled coldly, “Now, as many of you know, there has been unrest throughout my kingdom and you are aware of how we deal with it,” her eyes searched the crowd before her gaze landed on Aurora who briefly wondered how her mother could see through the darkness, “I trust that you all will join me in this moment, celebrating another victory, knowing we must protect the kingdom from these rebels.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The wide double doors opened and Aurora’s gasp caught in her throat as she watched three men and two women being dragged into the room. Two of the ragged men were into adulthood with steely eyes and muscular build, but the third was a sandy-haired scrawny boy who looked like he couldn’t be older than 17. A girl clung to his side as an older woman walked next to her with a solemn look on her face. They had shackles on their wrists and bruises on their faces. Aurora wondered what they’d done. She looked back at her mother as Orion gripped her arm tightly.

What was happening?

Her attention turned to her husband as he pulled at her arm, murmuring, “We need to leave.”

Aurora let herself be pulled for a few steps before she remembered to react, “Why?” but Orion stayed silent, pushing through people toward the nearest door. She tried again, “Orion-”

Then a guard was stepping in front of them, blocking a doorway, explaining, “The queen wants everyone present.”

Orion just looked around, searching for another exit.

When she saw the desperation and fear on his face, Aurora gently brought her hand to his arm.

Orion turned his eyes to her, still slightly panicked.

“Orion,” she said his name with a firm tone, “It’s alright… I need to stay,” she looked to the throne where her mother watched from, somehow still seeing them in the dark, “I need to see what she has become.”

Orion paused, looking uncertain.

Aurora met his gaze again and nodded once, firmly.

He saw the resignation in her gaze and squeezed his eyes closed for a moment before he gripped her hand in his, stooping down slightly to look directly into her eyes, “Are you certain?” he seemed to be in pain, “Ror, it- it won’t be pretty.”

Aurora steeled her nerves and nodded, knowing that hiding would ultimately only make things worse.

Orion sighed, squeezing her hand and looking away, “Alright.”

Aurora nodded in thanks but made sure to squeeze his hand back.

She was sure this was a necessary evil she needed to face.

Her eyes turned back to her mother who watched them in the crowd with an emotionless look resting on her face.

Aurora just straightened her shoulders and stared back, making sure to keep her own expression neutral. She would not show her mother the fear and uncertainty that she felt.

The princess then turned her gaze to the prisoners. Her eyes lingered a bit longer on the younger boy trying to look brave next to a girl who shook visibly, gripping his shirt with her bound hands.

She heard her mother’s voice continue, “These traitors tried to sneak into the castle and kill me last night,” Aurora’s spine stiffened and she looked at their fearful faces, “The women posed as maids and allowed the others into the castle. Guards caught them in the night sneaking through the halls with weapons on hand. After only a few minutes of interrogation, the girl admitted their plans,” the queen looked distastefully at the girl who couldn’t be older than 16.

Aurora watched the way she gripped the boy’s shirt, wondering why she felt fear for them even after knowing they tried to kill her mother.

“Now,” her mother’s voice boomed, “They will face the penalty of treason,” her eyes met Aurora’s again, “Death.”

“No,” Aurora whispered under her breath. The crowd shifted uncomfortably, but nobody spoke.

Was this an ordinary punishment?

She didn’t remember her mother killing people in the past, but maybe she had just hidden those things from her daughter.

No.

Even if this was normal and had always been normal, it was not right.

She unconsciously took a step forward.

The girl began to sob openly as a guard ripped her away from the sandy-haired boy and threw him to the ground. The boy was followed by the others who were also forced down one by one.

What was her mother doing?

The girl tried begging, “Please…” her voice broke, “We only want to help. The people-” her voice broke off as her throat closed in terror and misery.

The boy, head bowed to almost touch the ground, continued for her in a raspy voice that held fury, “The people are starving and freezing to death,” he spat out, “and nothing- nothing is done about it,” his head slowly rose and Aurora could see his eyes were red with tears as he looked around the crowd, “all of you cowards just stands by and let everyone suffer just because the queen-” his furious gaze turned to Aurora’s mother, “Is a selfish hag who only cares about her own. She’s left us all to rot. Treating us like-” he was cut off by a blow to his head from a guard. Aurora wondered why the guards had let him talk for so long. How many of his words were true?

Aurora began to panic as she looked around the crowd, watching their dismal expressions, seeing that some even turned away from the sight.

Was this really what the kingdom had become?

Aurora took another step forward as she watched the girl try to scoot toward the boy who had slumped to the ground from the blow.

This time, she felt a hand on her arm. Orion.

The princess turned to her husband to see his eyes pleading with her to stop.

But how could she stop when she knew she had done nothing for years? She was essentially a puppet being strung along by her own mother to rule a kingdom straight into ruin.

The guard kicked the boy again and this time the boy stopped moving. The princess found herself hoping he had passed out. She didn’t think anyone deserved to be awake to see this.

The girl finally reached the boy and wept over him, trying to shield his body with hers.

Aurora yanked her arm away from Orion, “I need to do something.”

His eyes widened at the fire in her eyes and he let go of Aurora when she yanked again.

Then the princess was moving toward the stage quickly, gaze set on the prisoners.

The crowd parted hurriedly, surprised to see the princess with such an expression.

Aurora thought of nothing except deterring whatever the guards were about to do.

She watched as one unsheathed his long, shining sword.

Her pace quickened.

The queen’s eyes were locked on Aurora but she could hardly bring herself to care as she brushed her fingertips on an old representative she’d known as a child, making sure to lock eyes.

There were murmurs beginning to rise around her as the guard lifted his sword high over one of the older man’s head.

Aurora reached the bottom of the platform, only a few meters away from the prisoners.

“Stop,” she commanded.

Her voice rang loudly in the suddenly quiet room.

The guard paused, unsure.

All eyes were on the princess.

The queen stared at her daughter in utter disbelief, ”What?”

Aurora steeled herself and met her mother’s furious gaze with a glare of her own, “I said stop."

The room held its breath as all eyes flicked between the princess and her mother.

The queen’s gaze was filled with so much fury, that it sent a shiver down Aurora’s spine. She straightened as she held her mother’s gaze, using her rebellious teenage years to fuel the strength behind her eyes as her hands shook with fear.

She watched her mother’s thoughts flicker behind her eyes and waited for something, anything, to break the tension in the air.

But she only felt despair when her mother spoke in a fridged tone, “Guard,” She kept her gaze on her daughter, “Continue.”

Aurora broke eye contact with the queen as she watched in horror as the guard lifted his sword again, this time with a slight tremor in his hands, and swung down.

“NO!” Aurora screamed as she began to move forward again. But before she could even react, a wall of ice was separating her from the prisoners. She heard a thud as something hit the ground and rolled followed by a scream from the young girl.

The princess cried out again, pounding against the thick ice as she watched the blurred form of the guard move to the next man.

She could not allow them to die.

How many had lost their lives while she was trapped?

Horror soaked through the princess’ veins as she looked up to the woman her mother had become.

The queen watched her with an intense gaze, daring her to try something again.

Aurora knew that that look meant she would be punished greatly, but she didn’t care. Any punishment was better than the guilt she would feel if she stood by and did nothing while people died trying to protect their children’s futures.

How could it have come to this? Why did her mother give up on being a righteous queen?

She used to look up to her mother and see a powerful yet honorable woman whom she could only dream of becoming.

Now she looked up at her mother and saw a heartless woman who had let fear and loss tear her apart. A woman she never wanted to become.

It was then that Aurora realized her mother was truly gone, replaced with a powerful witch who needed to be locked away before she could continue to torture and slowly kill her kingdom.

Aurora knew she was the only one with the power to stop her.

She stared the queen in the face and watched her eyes widen at the fire in Aurora’s eyes. Then the princess reached forward, placing a hand on the ice wall and using her freshly borrowed gift to melt it to mere steam in the air.

The princess let the rage from guilt and loss fuel her steps as she moved up the stairs one at a time. She didn’t bother glancing at the ice that hurtled her way as she turned it easily to water that began to splash down the grand, ornate steps.

People had started to scream and scramble back, worried that they’d get caught in the crossfire. It didn’t surprise Aurora that the people who stood by and watched the collapse of the kingdom only cared about their own well-being.

Her eyes were locked on the guard who had now killed the other man and was standing over the woman, his back to the princess.

Aurora tried to quicken her pace when his arm swung back again, but her mother was flinging ice and snow along her path. She had no choice but to divide her attention, lest she be frozen in place before she could actually do anything, “Stop,” She spoke with authority as her hand shoved a long ice spear away, fighting to keep her feet from sliding as she worked to melt everything in her path. But she was helpless as the guard ignored her command and swung his sword down. The princess’ voice cracked as she stumbled on a slippery chunk, ”Stop.”

By the time she finally reached the executioner, she was melting a blizzard around her, heart breaking as the girl tried to protect the boy from the guard and the ice with her weeping form. The guard raised his sword again, and she tried one last command of ”STOP."

Then her hand came down on the back of the guard’s unprotected neck and he was screaming in pain, recoiling as welts immediately formed on the skin she had touched.

He stumbled forward, away from the princess, as she stood in front of the unconscious boy and the girl whose eyes showed nothing but pure terror.

She reached her hand down to the girl, attempting to reassure her, when she felt a gust of air fly by, missing her outstretched hand by an inch.

The princess didn’t even have time to gasp. Her body was frozen still in shock as she watched the girl scream in horror.

There was a large piece of ice impaling straight through the young boy, a crimson pool of blood already mixing with the melted ice coating the ground.

The girl’s screams were muted in the princess’ ears as she slowly turned, not willing to believe… but-

Her mother stood still, arm raised.

The queen’s eyes were wide and deranged and her perfect hair was slightly dishevelled.

Aurora stood still as her mother’s eyes met hers and softened slightly. The queen lowered her arm and started making slow steps to the princess, speaking softly like Aurora would somehow be able to hear her over the screams of the girl.

Aurora wished she couldn’t.

“My love, cease this absurd behavior,” she pushed a piece of her wild hair back as she slowly walked down the steps, somehow managing to not slip on any puddles of water, “You forced me to do something I didn’t want to.”

Aurora remained frozen, still attempting to process what her mother had just done.

When the queen reached the landing that her daughter stood on, Aurora felt a cold hand caress her cheek tenderly, “Darling, this is the way it has to be. To keep you safe,” tension swam through the air but the queen acted as if she couldn’t feel it, “to keep Killian safe,” she glanced at the tragic scene with disdain, “They deserve death.”

They… what?

Aurora looked into her mother’s eyes- truly looked.

And she saw nothing.

A void of pain.

A longing.

She saw someone who was willing to do anything to keep her best interest ahead; someone eager to step on the heads of families- children to reach her goals; someone unlike the mother she once knew.

This was not her mother.

This was a monster.

The queen took her daughter’s lack of response as submission and gave her cheek one more pat, smiling softly, before turning to the girl who had crumbled into sobs on the ground, clutching at the lifeless body of the boy, overcome by grief.

The queen spared a glance at Aurora before adding, “One day you’ll understand,” as she raised her hand to finish off the girl with no sign of empathy or hesitation.

Aurora was so overcome with loss, confusion, and disgust that all she could manage was a weak, “... no.”

The woman paused again, seemingly bewildered that her heir had the gall to oppose her again, “What is it now?”

Aurora balled her hands into fists and looked right into the monster’s eyes as she uttered with loathing, “I will never understand.”

And then she was reaching out, knowing she had only one choice.

Her vision blurred and she vaguely recognized that she was crying as she watched shock and then betrayal flash in the monster’s eyes.

Then the queen’s blood was boiling inside of her veins.