The Last Bloom of Winter

I died on the night he crowned another woman his queen. While they celebrated, bathed in the adoration of their subjects, I took my last breath alone in the cold, abandoned wing of the palace, clutching a small, lifeless fox.
The fox had been his promise to me. Back when he had nothing, he'd sworn that one day he would give me a crown and a kingdom. I stood by him, from a disinherited prince of a fallen kingdom to the emperor who united the fractured lands. But when he finally ascended the throne, he chose another to be his queen.
He gave her the most magnificent crown, the most lavish gowns. He let her snatch my little fox, my only companion, and have it skinned for a muff. "I'll get you another one," he'd said, as if it were nothing.
He didn't know. I was already gone.
Author's Note: I post a new chapter almost every single day!