I had been in my room the entire day, barely moving from my place by the tall arched window. My chin rested on my palm, elbow pressed into the cushioned arm of the chair, and with each passing minute, another sigh escaped my lips, soft and tired. I must have sighed at least fifty times by now.
The sun outside had long begun its descent, casting golden streaks across the trees, setting the flowers below in a warm amber glow. I watched the bird flutter and play above the garden, free and without responsibility, while I felt like a bird in a gilded cage. If they named me heir… my beautiful plan—everything I had carefully thought of—would crumble. If that future arrived, I had been nothing more than my father's shadow, caged within the duties of the crown. It would be like living in a prison… only with silk sheets and jeweled bars.
Suddenly, the creak of the door pulled me from my thoughts.
"Your Highness," a soft, familiar voice called.
