Years ago, when I was a child about the age of eight, my father gave me a small statue about the size of a shoebox for my birthday. I kept it in my bedroom, and at first, I didn't really mind it. It was a statue of a man leaning against a cherry blossom, the petals falling around him. It was beautiful, and though I admired it, what was a little girl going to do with a statue of all things?
Then came the day Mother died. After the funeral, the servants brought me to my room. "Would you like me to stay with you miss?" asked Layla, my most trusted friend and servant who had cared for me ever since I could remember.
"No thank you, Layla. I think I would just like to be alone."
"Of course miss." she said with a curtsy, then she left.
Once she was gone, I closed the door and locked it, and fell on my bed crying. "Oh, Mother, why did you leave me? I can't handle anything without you." I whispered, wanting her to hear me. I wanted her to answer me, to comfort me. Anyone, actually.
Then I heard a voice say, "You are strong, Princess Eliana. You will be fine on your own. Your mother knew that too, I'm sure."
My eyes widened in shock and fear. I was alone, wasn't I? "Wh- who's there? Where are you? How did you get in?" I demanded.
"I am always here, yet you never notice me. I have been here, watching you, for two years now."
I looked around. "Who are you?" I asked puzzled.
"My name, once, was Andrew, though I suppose it would not matter now. I am not human anymore."
"Where are you? Are you a ghost?"
He, whoever 'he' was, chuckled a little. "No. On your vanity, Princess." said the voice.
I gasped. "The- the statue?"
"Yes, dear Princess Eliana, I am the statue, though your father does not know it." he paused. "I am cursed, frozen forever like this, and though I am immortal somehow, will always remain young; I cannot move nor speak, and life is almost meaningless."
"But you are speaking to me right now. Surely that means you can talk?"
"No, I cannot. I have a sort of voice, but I can only be heard by those who wish to hear me, in their minds and hearts, and that is all."
"Can you hear my thoughts?" I wondered aloud, the pain of Mother's death no longer my focus.
"There is no need to worry, dear Princess, I cannot. Though if you talk to me with someone else around they may think you have lost your mind."
"Then I won't. I will talk to you at night, when we are alone. Why have you remained silent so long?"
"Again, you have to wish to hear me, and you never wished until now. Though I had already lost hope that I would ever be heard, I was, by you, and I thank you for it."
"You're welcome. And please, stop calling me 'Princess'. Just call me Eliana."
"As you wish, Prin- I mean, Eliana."
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A/N: hi guys, so I want to know what you think of this, and please vote or comment, and please help me share this story. I know the prologue is so short, and I have Chapter 1 already started, I'm just going to post it later on. In the meantime, please read my other stories if you want, I'd be grateful! If you have any name suggestions for later on, it would help a lot, so please feel free to message them to me or comment. Thanks. Oh yeah, and if you send me any covers, i would be really happy, since i don't know how to make one for this story, though i did for most of my other works... So yeah. This is based on a dream I had, so I'm not sure how well it will work as a story, since the dream wasn't exactly detailed... But yeah, enjoy!
~Savannah
