Whispers of the Crown

The setting sun casts long shadows across your small cottage in the woods. The scent of drying silk, your favorite deep red dress, fills the air. It's the only valuable item you managed to keep after your father passed, and tonight, it needs to be perfect.

You carefully hang the dress on a line, the material clinging slightly to your skin. A sigh escapes your lips as you think of your mother, frail and weak in the next room. Her health is failing, and every berry you sell feels like a drop in the ocean compared to the cost of her treatment.

The Prince's ball. Everyone else sees it as a chance for a fairytale, but for you, it's a desperate gamble. A chance to reach the Queen and beg for a job as a cleaner at the Palace, any job that will provide enough to save your mother. You don't dream of dancing with the Prince; you only dream of a steady wage.

With dinner to make and berries to prepare for tomorrow's market, there's no time for tears. You head inside, the weight of your responsibilities pressing down on you, hoping that tonight, just maybe, things will change.