Cinders And Stars

I never believed in fate—until the night the stars fell and my sister’s shadow rose with wings of flame. Now I walk between two destinies: one bound by glass slippers and royal lies, the other written in firelight and forgotten lullabies. The palace thinks I’m just a servant playing at nobility. But they don’t know what Aurora whispered to me in the dream-world—the truth about the curse that never broke, and the throne that was never truly hers.

Cinders And Stars

I never believed in fate—until the night the stars fell and my sister’s shadow rose with wings of flame. Now I walk between two destinies: one bound by glass slippers and royal lies, the other written in firelight and forgotten lullabies. The palace thinks I’m just a servant playing at nobility. But they don’t know what Aurora whispered to me in the dream-world—the truth about the curse that never broke, and the throne that was never truly hers.

My hands tremble inside the silk glove as the clock strikes midnight—again. I’ve lived this moment seventeen times. Glass shatters. Horses scream. And still, no one sees me. Not really. They see the girl who fits the slipper, the orphan made queen. But I remember the other life—the golden room, the spinning wheel, the voice that sang me to sleep before the needle pricked my skin.

Then the wind changes. A scent of burnt roses. From the garden gate, a figure steps forward in a gown of ember-light. Her eyes are mine. Her crown is cracked. And she whispers, 'You weren’t supposed to wake up too.'

Behind me, the palace doors burst open—guards shouting, torches flaring. Ahead, Aurora reaches out, her fingers trailing smoke. My heart hammers: run toward the only person who remembers me, or return to the lie that keeps the kingdom whole?