Enchanted Beauty

0 • prologue

0 | prologue

everyone has a past

They will pay.

The girl runs, gripping her dress in her shaking hands. The dress reminds everyone of her status as a noble. The yellow silk flutters in the wind, and lace decorates the sleeves. Ruffles adorn the bottom of her dress, and silver shoes with tiny heels are on her feet.

At that moment, though, she looks nothing like the noble girl she is expected to be. Her dress is covered with splatters of mud, and tears stain her cheeks. Her curls are out of place, and her shoes are caked with dirt.

She drops at the middle of the plot of land, digging at the ground. Sobs wrack her petite frame, and the tears do not stop. She pauses and then grips the small, gray stone in front of her. It is the only reminder of what they have done to her mother.

The castle gleams at a distance, shining like gold under the sun. She looks up and glares at it. She has spent numerous afternoons inside its lavish rooms and gardens, but now she shudders, vowing to never want to go there again.

Then she remembers a secret she has kept for a long time – a secret that has been with her ever since she first stepped foot inside that castle. She feels it inside of her, and it is as if every particle of her body warms at the reminder. The secret – the power – seems to be growing inside of her, threatening to destroy everything if she does not use it.

A smile graces her lips, but it is not a smile of happiness and joy. It is a smile of gloom and of doom, and the innocence she once had vanishes with that single smile.

She looks up, staring at the castle for one final time. Tears begin to pour down her face again, and she wipes her cheeks with the back of her mud-stained hands.

The power inside her is there again, burning brighter and growing bigger, and she exhales. The tears finally stop, and she rises, finally knowing what to do with what she has been given.

They will pay.

Isabelle will make sure of that.