Chapter 1 - The Shifting Wood
The woman slowly entered the frame.
And a minute later something happened that left everyone present completely paralyzed by surprise.
The rigid, solid wooden structure began to shift and groan loudly.
Gears clicked in a rhythmic sequence that echoed through the massive and silent throne room.
The frame, which had remained perfectly rectangular for three long years, suddenly contracted and contoured to match her sturdy curves perfectly.
A blinding blue light erupted from the base of the ancient artifact.
The aristocratic girls who had mocked her just moments ago now shielded their eyes in pure terror.
Some of them even fell to their knees, gasping for air as the strange magic swept through the hall.
Prince Kaelen stood up from his velvet throne, his usual look of boredom entirely gone.
He walked down the marble steps with a heavy, deliberate, and incredibly intense pace.
No one dared to breathe as he stopped mere inches away from the sturdy girl.
He reached out and gently touched the glowing wooden frame.
"You are the one," Kaelen whispered, his voice trembling with an emotion no one could easily identify.
The entire court gasped in unison at his incredible declaration.
The future king had finally chosen a bride after rejecting thousands of flawless beauties.
The sturdy girl, whose name was Elara, simply stared back at him with a mixture of confusion and fear.
She had only come to the palace to deliver a dress, but the guards had shoved her into the testing line by mistake.
She did not want to be a princess.
She opened her mouth to explain the misunderstanding, but the words never left her throat.
Before Elara could even respond to the prince, a sudden shattering of glass ripped through the air.
A masked figure swung in from the giant stained-glass window above the throne.
A poisoned dagger gleamed dangerously in the sunlight, aimed directly at the new bride's heart.
The prince lunged forward to shield her, but he was a fraction of a second too late.
The assassin's blade struck Elara's chest with a sickening thud, sending her crashing onto the hard marble floor.
The entire room erupted into chaotic, deafening screams as blood began to pool beneath her.
But as the prince desperately tore away the fabric of her dress to stop the bleeding, he froze in sheer horror.
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The blood pouring from Elara's wound was not red.
It was a glowing, metallic silver.
