Dark but Warm
The floor was cold.
A hole in the prison roof allowed droplets of water to fall steadily onto the stone floor below.
The soft rhythm echoed through the darkness.
Strangely, the sound comforted Ella.
It reminded her of her childhood, long before she was forbidden from entering the main castle and confined to the small cottage behind it.
She had been locked in prison countless times back then.
It had not been as cold as this one, but it had been just as dark.
The walls were covered in strange stains and shadows that frightened her as a child.
She remembered her stepsisters visiting every day, not out of concern, but to mock her.
“Jerk.”
“Useless girl.”
Those words had followed her throughout her childhood.
The worst part wasn’t the insults.
It was having no one to defend her.
No mother to comfort her.
No father willing to listen.
She had been helpless in her own home.
Abused.
Ignored.
Denied freedom.
All because of a mistake made by a man long before she was born.
Whenever she was imprisoned, she would hear music drifting from somewhere beyond the walls.
Her nanny used to tell her it was her mother’s spirit watching over her.
Ella never truly believed that.
To her, it felt like something else.
Something hidden deep inside her.
A gentle voice that whispered whenever she was afraid.
Don’t worry.
Don’t be afraid.
You are not alone.
She searched for that voice now.
But it was gone.
No whispers.
No comfort.
Only the steady sound of water droplets striking stone.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Ella curled her knees to her chest.
She had no friends in this strange kingdom.
Not even a maid she could trust.
The maid who had confessed to witnessing the entire incident was one of the servants assigned to her by the king.
Ella had not been allowed to bring anyone from her father’s castle—not even the personal maid who had cared for her since childhood.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
Oddly enough, she smiled.
It had been a long time since she had cried.
The last time was years ago when she had stolen food from the castle kitchens.
She had been starving.
Her stepsister had falsely accused her of striking her, and as punishment she had been denied meals for days.
When she was finally caught stealing bread, she had been beaten.
Yet she remembered feeling happy.
At least she had eaten first.
That day changed her.
Afterward, she stopped trying to earn her father’s affection.
She stopped caring about royal lessons.
Stopped caring about dance classes.
Stopped caring about becoming the perfect princess.
Instead, she spent her days alone in her cottage, reading novels and history books or listening to the maids gossip about the world beyond her walls.
During those lonely years, she often wondered about her mother.
What kind of woman had she been?
What thoughts had crossed her mind before she chose death?
Why hadn’t she fought back?
Ella had sworn she would uncover the truth.
She would learn about her mother’s family.
She would make those who had hurt her pay for what they had done.
But now she was far from home.
So far away that it felt impossible to return.
It was almost as if her father had heard her thoughts and deliberately sent her to a kingdom where she could never pursue her goals.
If only the king had accepted her.
If only he had welcomed her as his wife.
If only he had made her his queen.
Then perhaps she could have achieved everything she dreamed of.
Instead, he rejected her the moment she arrived.
Without knowing her.
Without understanding her.
Just like everyone else.
Rejected.
From the moment she was born.
Her father rejected her.
Her husband rejected her.
And perhaps…
Perhaps even her mother had rejected her too.
The thought shattered what little strength she had left.
Tears streamed silently down her face as she sat alone within the cold prison walls.
The king entered his bath chamber and found Selena already waiting in the steaming water.
She smiled warmly and motioned for him to join her.
Normally he would have.
But not tonight.
His thoughts were elsewhere.
The Queen’s arch.
His mother’s final gift.
He had been trying to figure out how to repair it.
It was the only thing she had left behind before her death.
Growing up, he rarely saw his mother.
His father had kept him isolated, claiming his powers were too dangerous.
Too unstable.
Too frightening.
The king had spent much of his childhood believing his mother did not love him.
Then, shortly before her death, she had given him the heirloom.
A silent apology for all the years they had lost.
He had treasured it ever since.
His eyes narrowed.
Wait.
He had stored it inside the library.
And he had sealed it.
Hadn’t he?
The memory felt strangely unclear.
If there had truly been a seal, how had Ella managed to break it?
She possessed no magic.
No power whatsoever.
And yet…
Something about the entire situation felt wrong.
Like he was overlooking something important.
He had nearly killed her.
The memory made him uncomfortable.
Instead, he had thrown her into prison.
“She’ll be fine,” he muttered.
Yet the words failed to convince even himself.
A strange urge kept telling him to investigate further.
To speak with her.
To look deeper into the matter.
But why?
Why should he concern himself with a woman who desperately wanted to be married off to another man?
Shouldn’t he be thinking about finding her a suitable husband instead?
He stepped into the bath.
Selena leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
He tried to focus on her.
Tried to push Ella from his mind.
But he couldn’t.
“My Lord,” Selena said softly, “is something troubling you?”
“You should leave. I need time to think.”
The dismissal surprised her, but she nodded and left without argument.
She assumed he was still upset about the heirloom.
The king sank deeper into the warm water.
His thoughts drifted back to Ella.
When had this started?
When had she become so difficult to ignore?
Perhaps it began the day she marched into his bath chamber and demanded an audience without a trace of fear.
Since then, she had lingered in his thoughts.
He found himself watching her when she wasn’t looking.
Listening for her voice in the corridors.
Searching for her whenever she disappeared from sight.
Selena had always been the closest woman to him.
Yet she was nothing like Ella.
Selena feared him.
Everyone feared him.
But Ella did not.
She laughed with the guards.
Joked with the maids.
Spoke her mind without hesitation.
Somehow, she brought life into the castle’s silent halls.
For a brief time, people smiled more.
Laughed more.
The fear surrounding him seemed lighter whenever she was near.
Now she was gone.
And the castle had returned to its old silence.
No loud demands for an audience.
No unexpected visits.
No voice calling out from beyond his window.
The emptiness felt wrong.
As if something important had been taken away.
Something precious.
Something he needed to find.