Shatter Like Glass-Cinderella Retold

Voice of Discord: Rapunzel Retold

-This is a sample from the second book in the Rivals Saga, Voice of Discord-

Dyena loved to watch the moon rise past the mountains. Darkness descended upon the cornfields surrounding the prison tower. Except for the guards patrolling her level and the ones beneath, the countryside was asleep. Dyena preferred the world asleep. They could not hate her while they were sleeping.

Moonlight streamed through the windows. The glow illuminated the flowers lining the west side of the chamber. Each row of the light blue blossoms seemed to flourish, though Dyena knew the moon wasn't to thank. The flowers—Yenas, she had been told—grew only when she sang to them. Humming even seemed to suffice during their better seasons. Without her voice, they would not survive. Without them, she would not have lasted long either.

She whispered a gentle melody as she stepped away from her window. Still singing, she crept to the garden nearest the center of the room. The only door into the room was obscured by the bed, which served as a barrier between the main living area and the plots. She kneeled behind the bed in front of the wooden frame surrounding the rows. Breath held, she pressed on one end of the wood. The pressure caused the opposite end to tilt slightly upward. Beneath the thick oak was a small compartment unknown to the guards and warden.

Cloaked in shadows inside the slot were her most valued possessions. A bar of soap rested nearest the top. Her overseers had given her two at the start of the month, as they always did. One remained in the bathroom. The second one—the one she had hidden away—had several deep, skinny grooves in its surface. Dyena placed the soap in front of her and continued examining the contents of the compartment.

She next removed a needle and the pile of cloth and hair it had been laid upon. Carefully she set them on the ground next to her. Reaching her hand inside the compartment, she frowned. The surface was smooth and empty. The last of her thread had been used.

Dyena's eyes darted to the partially concealed door. A guard was stationed outside. As far as Dyena knew, she was the same guard who had paced the hallway for thirteen years. So far, the guard had not caught her. Yet. The possibility always dangled over her head. Fear nearly held her back, but the little hope she had left was stronger.