A kingdom of Ash and Echoes

Chapter 13 - The Letter

The corridors carried a strange silence that morning. Lyriana felt it before she even reached her sister's chambers—a heaviness in the air, like the castle itself knew what had happened.
When she pushed open the door, her breath caught. The room was empty. The bed neatly made, untouched. The fire long dead, the air chilled by the open window where the curtains fluttered in the cold breeze.
On the desk, a single folded letter waited, bound with Seraphina's ribbon.
Lyriana's hands trembled as she opened it, her eyes devouring the words:
My beloved family,
Forgive me. I love you all more than life itself, but I cannot remain. My heart does not belong here—it belongs to him. I know this will bring pain, but I cannot give myself to a future that would bind me in chains. I cannot marry Prince Cedric. I will not. My choice is made, and I beg you not to follow me.
Always, with love,
Seraphina
The parchment slipped from Lyriana's grasp. She pressed her hand to her chest as though to still the ache that bloomed there. She had known this was coming, deep down—she had seen it in her sister's eyes, in her silences, in the way she seemed to drift further from them each day. And she knew who "him" was. She had known for years.
A part of her had wanted this for Seraphina, wanted her sister to escape the cold cage of duty, to find happiness beyond the walls of Avaranth. But not like this. Not now.
A sharp gasp came from the doorway. Queen Elowen stood there, her face pale, her trembling hands clutching the ribbon-bound letter as if it might vanish. Her eyes skimmed the words, and when she looked at Lyriana again, they were brimming with grief.
"She has abandoned us," Elowen whispered. "Abandoned her kingdom."
Lyriana shook her head, though her throat was too tight to speak. At last, she forced the words out. "No, Mother. She hasn't abandoned us. She's chosen herself—for once."
But the words rang hollow, even in her own ears.
Elowen sank into the chair by the cold hearth, her body sagging under invisible weight. "If this is known..." Her voice faltered. "If Cedric's court learns of this, if his family discovers she has run off with another man..."
Lyriana's stomach twisted. Prince Cedric had never even set foot in Avaranth, but his reputation alone preceded him—vain, reckless, indulgent. The court had already murmured uneasily at the thought of binding Seraphina to such a man. If it were revealed that she had refused him outright, that she had fled with another... it could spark outrage. Perhaps even war.
"We cannot let the court know," Lyriana said firmly, though fear clawed at her. "We cannot let anyone know. Not the lords, not the servants—no one."
Elowen lifted her gaze to her daughter, her eyes raw with anguish. "And your father?" she asked in a broken whisper.
Lyriana's breath caught. Their father—King Aelric—lay fading in his chambers, his body weakened by illness, his spirit already slipping away. How could they tell him that his daughter, the one meant to secure Avaranth's future, had vanished into the night with the man she loved? It would crush what little strength he had left.
"No," Lyriana said quickly, almost desperately. "We cannot tell him. Not now. It would kill him."
Elowen pressed the letter to her chest, closing her eyes. A tear slid down her cheek, but her voice hardened as she whispered, "Then this must be buried. Until we know more—until we can find her—no word of this must leave these walls."
Lyriana nodded, though dread coiled tighter within her. Secrets were heavy things. They rotted and spread, no matter how carefully guarded. And this one—her sister's choice, her disappearance—had the power to unravel everything.
Lyriana moved to the window, staring out into the endless dark horizon. Somewhere beyond those walls, Seraphina was walking into the life she had chosen, hand in hand with the man she loved.
A part of Lyriana longed to be happy for her sister. But all she could feel was fear—fear of what would happen when the truth inevitably reached Cedric's ears. Fear of what would happen to their kingdom when Seraphina's absence could no longer be hidden.

For a long time, Lyriana stood by the open window, the wind biting against her skin. She imagined Seraphina out there—walking freely at last, hand in hand with the man she had chosen. Her heart twisted. She wanted to run after her, to drag her back before the world swallowed her whole.
But she didn't.
Her fingers curled tight around the stone window ledge as she whispered to the horizon, "Go, Sera. Be free. I'll protect what's left behind."
Tears stung her eyes, but she forced herself to turn away. Seraphina's path was chosen. And Lyriana's was here, in the crumbling castle, standing between her family and the storm.
.
But in the silence that followed, with the candlelight flickering low, Lyriana made her choice too.
She would let her go.
For now.