"Seraphina! Halt!" her eldest brother called out—
but she didn't stop.
Blinded by grief and humiliated rage,
she ran faster, her heels clattering over stone
until she reached the castle's golden gates.
The guards, stunned, stepped into her path,
urged by orders to stop her.
But the middle princess,
tears trailing down her cheeks,
snapped like a whipcrack—
—"Let me pass, at last!"
Her voice, though shaking, rang with authority.
The guards hesitated—
then obeyed.
The gates groaned open just in time
for her to slip through,
moments before her youngest brother could reach her.
—"Wait for me!" he cried,
but Seraphina was already gone,
racing down the stone path toward the city,
toward anywhere that wasn't him.
Behind her, the royal family stumbled after her—
and behind them, came Valeria.
Panting, breath ragged from the sprint,
she didn't hesitate.
She didn't ask permission.
She just ran.
—"Princess!"
Her voice cracked as she chased her through the open gates,
past the torches, past the cries of the king and brothers,
past the guards shouting after them both.
—"Seraphina!"
They were far from the castle now,
lost between the path's end and the forest's edge.
The sky stretched dark above them,
moonlight barely piercing through the frostbitten leaves.
In the chaos,
Valeria's mask slipped from her face—
that carefully carved smile of polished wood.
It shattered against the stones behind her,
left forgotten on the castle road
as she followed her runaway dream.
At last, Seraphina stopped—
gasping, hunched over, hands on her knees.
Her lungs screamed for air,
cheeks burning from wind and humiliation.
She looked up,
and realized they were alone—
the city gone, the forest around them still and cold.
Only Valeria remained.
The jester stumbled to a halt, chest rising and falling in painful heaves.
—"Seraphina," she panted, voice raw,
"Are you alright?"
Seraphina turned to face her,
eyes red, wild, and gleaming.
—"Why do you care?" she spat.
The bruise on her cheek still bloomed with heat,
pain and heartbreak tangled in every word.
Valeria's breath caught—
but her voice came sharp in return.
—"Why wouldn't I?"
That small bite in her tone surprised even herself.
Seraphina looked at her
as if she'd grown three new heads.
—"How dare you speak to your princess like that?
You should show respect—nothing but respect."
Valeria scoffed,
arms folding across her chest
as she took a step forward,
frustration burning behind her dark gaze.
—"Respect?" she echoed,
voice trembling with emotion she couldn't name.
"In the royal kitchen…
that was how a princess treats a peasant?"
Another step.
—"At the ball, in front of everyone—
you said my name, Seraphina. My name."
Her voice cracked,
her fists clenched at her sides.
—"You touched me like I mattered.
Like I wasn't invisible in your golden world.
And now—now I'm just supposed to forget it? Pretend it didn't happen?"
Valeria exhaled,
hating how her voice wavered,
hating how much it all meant.
—"What am I to you, Seraphina?"
The words hung between them—
bare, bold, and dangerous.
And yet—
honest.
Seraphina's lips parted,
but no words came.
Because neither of them knew,
not truly.
But something inside them both was already breaking open.