Solena

As the door closed I stayed there waiting in silence thinking hard of what my Life was before all these but it looked like my memory was erased, there was nothing coming but I am certain that this is not my life and that man is not father even though…

The resemblance between us could easily be spotted. Something in me fought it , something tells me I have no father even if my memory feels so faint now I knew that I don’t belong here at all.

“ Hey you, don't just stand there like a lost puppy, the court lady would come in now to get you freshened up.” The guy who they referred to as the Sentinel said

Immediately the heavy door groaned open again, but it wasn't the guard this time.

A woman stepped in, tall and cold-faced, dressed in muted gray robes with sharp eyes that scanned me with undisguised disgust. Her pale hair was pulled into a tight knot, and she carried herself like someone who’d rather be anywhere else.

"Up," she barked, her voice echoing against the damp stone walls.

I didn't move.I was too weak, too sore, too scared. The woman marched forward and grabbed my arm, yanking me up to my feet. Pain lanced through my ribs, and I cried out.

"Stop your whining. You're lucky you're not dead," the woman snapped, shoving me toward the open door. "You’re a human, aren’t you? Tch. Filthy thing. Shouldn’t even be allowed to breathe the same air as us.”

I stumbled down a narrow corridor, barely able to keep up. The palace here was nothing like what I imagined. No gold, no velvet. Just stone, shadows, and silence. I was led through a small wooden door at the back of the hall, shoved inside a tiny room windowless, with a single stool and a cracked basin of water.

What the hell was I doing here if I am indeed that man's child.

A folded bundle of clothes sat on the stool: a coarse, rough dress the color of ashes.

The woman pointed. "Clean up. Change. You need to look decent and judging from what you have on it shows how much of a wayward girl you are " she said eyeing me With so much hate

" Okay, but please can I get some privacy?" I croaked.

The slap came fast and hard. Her cheek stung.

"No questions," the woman hissed. "You speak when spoken to. You move when ordered. That’s your place now, human."

I swallowed my tears. All I wanted to do now was to scream, to run, to disappear but there was nowhere to go. So, with trembling fingers, I changed. The dress scratched my skin. The water in the basin was cold and smelled faintly of rust. I washed the blood from my face, hiding the trembling in my hands.

Once I was done, the womanturned.to meet her gaze . Not a word was spoken. She examined me, sneered, then marched me out again.

She led to a small, empty room that looked like a storage space, bare stone walls, a single high window barely large enough for air to pass. A rusted lantern hung by a crooked nail. A pile of old linens sat in one corner like a forgotten dog bed.

"Stay. Don’t move. Don’t think. Don’t breathe too loud. Or I’ll come back and make you wish you’d died in that dungeon," the woman spat before slamming the door.

I just sat still for several minutes, my heart thudding. My whole body trembled. I looked around the room again. There was no bed. No food. No kindness. Just silence.

And a window.

I stood up slowly, my muscles were screaming in protest. The high window was barely reachable. I dragged the pile of linens over, stacking them carefully, wobbling as I stood on them.

The window didn’t have bars.

Hope sparked in my chest like a weak flame just maybe I would be able to escape From here and find where I truly belong

I reached for the ledge, gripping it tightly and hauling myself upward. My fingers scraped the stone. My arms shook from the effort. I pulled myself higher until my eyes met the world outside.

Green trees. Sky. A high outer wall but if I could get past this one, then I would find my way from there and get away from these killers.

Bur then suddenly heard it. The door slammed open.

I barely had time to react before a hand gripped my ankle and yanked me down.

I hit the floor with a sickening thud. Pain exploded through my side.

“Trying to escape?" a deep voice snarled.

Two men stood over her. Towering. Dressed in dark armor marked with a crimson insignia, a curved blade and sunburst. They were different from the guards in the dungeon .

One of them kicked me very hard in the stomach. I began to gasp , curling up, but he grabbed me by the hair and hauled me to my knees.

"Ungrateful wretch, let 's see what the Sentinel has to say about you trying to run away .”

The other stepped forward and backhanded me across the face. Blood filled my mouth. I let out a cry out, struggling, but it only angered them.

"You think you can run? From us? You’re in the King’s hold now. You don’t get to run."

I coughed, body convulsing in pain. Another kick landed on her ribs.

"Please… stop," I choked.

But they didn’t. Not until I lay gasping on the floor, bleeding and broken.

The taller one spit near her head. "The King will decide what to do with you. Until then, you’ll learn obedience."

They dragged her limp body out of the room, past wide eyed servants who turned their faces quickly.

Blood smeared the stone as they pulled her along.

Whispers followed her like ghosts:

"She looks like him…"

"No, it’s impossible."

"But did you see her eyes? The same fire…"

They threw me back into the dark cell colder this time, wetter. The door slammed shut. No one spoke to me again.

I laid on the floor, curled up in a ball, too weak to cry.

Hours passed Or days. I don't even know anymore.

I heard footsteps sometimes. Keys turning. Murmurs. But no one came for me .

Just silence. And pain.

Until one day, the door creaked open again. And a different kind of hush fell over the corridor. A heavier presence.

She didn't look up.

But something told her the King had summoned her.

Again.