Queen Seraphina

The castle was plunged into a confused agitation. What was supposed to be a day of celebration had turned into a scandal. The guests were still murmuring, shocked by the scene that had just unfolded: the mistress of the future king interrupting the ceremony, Queen Seraphina hitting her fiancé before running away crying. And I had to find her. I ran through the corridors of the palace, my heart beating wildly. Queen Seraphina was proud, strong… but this betrayal had broken something inside her. She was not the type to cry in public. If she had run away, it was to hide her tears. I pushed open the door to her apartments. Empty. Not a sound. I checked the throne room, the gardens, even the library where she liked to take refuge when she needed solitude. Nothing. Then I understood. There was a place she always went when she wanted to be alone with her thoughts. The North Tower. I climbed the stairs four at a time, my breath short. At the top, the door was ajar. I pushed it gently and saw her. Seraphina stood with her back to me, her gaze lost in the landscape. Her wedding veil was half torn, and her crown lay at her feet. Her shoulders were shaking slightly. “Your Majesty…” I whispered softly. She didn’t turn around, but her voice rose, broken. “Have you come for me too?” “Yes.” A silence fell. Then she let out a bitter laugh. “They must all be laughing at me, down there. A queen humiliated in front of the entire court. A queen abandoned before she had even been crowned.” I took a step forward. “You are not abandoned.” She finally turned her head towards me. Her eyes were red, but there was still that spark of fire in her. “And you? Why are you here?” I swallowed. How could I tell her that I hadn’t come out of duty, but because seeing her suffer broke me as much as she did? I took a breath and dropped to one knee. “Because I will always serve you, no matter what.”