Sunlight floods through my windows, tinted scarlet by the edging of stained glass. I smooth down my expensive dress before reaching down and picking up a box. Inside is a silver circlet laced with emeralds, the crown that marks me as princess. I reach up and place the circlet on top of my head carefully.

Someone knocks on the doors to my chambers.

“Come in,” I say, standing. The doors burst open and a young woman enters. She is dirty, with clothing that hangs loose on her body and a satchel across one shoulder. She dips into a wobbly curtsy.

“Excuse me,” she says. “Are you Princess Orchid?”

“Of course I am,” I reply.

She clutches the strap to her satchel. “I am your great-granddaughter and I’ve come to warn you.”

I laugh airily. “My great-granddaughter? I think not.”

“I’m serious,” she insists. “In a few weeks, your mother will marry you off to a prince. And that will set off a chain of events that ends with me, poor and starving.”

“You’re lying!” I say dismissively.

She reaches into the satchel and pulls out a circlet. My circlet.

“Impossible,” I gasp. “MY circlet is one of a kind.”

“It was passed down for generations after you died,” the young woman whispers. “You have to believe me, Orchid. You can’t marry.”

“No,” I say, unbelieving. “I am the eldest. I will be queen of this kingdom soon.”

She shakes her head. “You won’t. The queen will send you off and make your brother king.”

I study the circlet in her hands. Then, I think of my mother the queen, whispering to my brother yesterday when they thought I wasn’t looking.

“Run away from here, Orchid,” she commands. I can see her royal blood showing through.

The way she says it makes me pause. “Run away? Alone? I wouldn’t survive the night.”

“I’ll come with you,” she offers, holding out her hand. “We can make it together. Please.”

I meet her eyes. Surprisingly, they’re the same shade of hazel as mine. She has my eyes.

I take her hand.