I was free. But freedom had a strange taste. Not sweet. Not bitter. Just... unfamiliar.
Back in my chambers, I undressed slowly, peeling off the emerald gown like shedding old skin.
I slipped into a plain robe, the fabric cool against my skin, grounding. I needed to feel normal.
Needed to remember who I was before all this. If there even was a before.
The mirror caught my reflection again.
Same face.
Different eyes.
Eyes that had seen betrayal. Eyes that had watched strangers become enemy. Eyes that had stared into the depths of humiliation and climbed out of it.
There was a knock. Soft. Tentative.
"Come in," I said, voice steady.
Beta stepped in, carrying a tray of food. I blinked.
"You’re not a servant," I said.
He grinned.
"No, but you wouldn’t eat if someone didn’t forc
