Morning sunlight touched nothing warmly in the castle anymore.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmvFA0i5nI
It spilled in through tall windows like a stranger—unwelcome, pale, and too quiet.
Elsa sat on the edge of her bed, still in her nightdress, the silver ring lying cold in her palm.
She had tried to throw it away. Twice.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrhxiDN1rG
Both times, it reappeared.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu9RFwQoeeU
First on her nightstand. Then… inside her pillow.
Its engraved letters—her name—seemed to glow faintly, like the ring was alive. Watching.
Her heart beat like war drums in her chest.
This castle is cursed, she finally whispered.
But deep down, she already knew.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRtUVTAF8bf
This wasn’t a vacation home for princesses anymore.
It was a cage.
And the girls weren’t brides.
They were prey.
Elsa wrapped the ring in a handkerchief, shoved it in her pocket, and hurried down the silent corridors. The halls moaned with the wind. Curtains fluttered like sighs. Mirrors reflected places she didn’t remember walking through.
She was being watched. She felt it in her bones.
But she didn’t stop—not until she reached the forbidden wing, a part of the castle sealed since before her birth. The doors were chained shut, but with a whispered plea and a trembling hand, she broke them open.
Dust filled the air like old ghosts.
Inside were books, rotting scrolls, paintings long covered in white cloth. She pulled one cover back and gasped.
It showed a cloaked figure placing rings on young girls’ hands. Their eyes were open—but empty. Their smiles stretched, but hollow. A fire behind them burned like a crown.
Elsa moved to the desk where ancient books lay stacked and cracked open the most fragile scroll she could find.
“When daughters of royal blood gather in peace…”
Her eyes widened as she read.
“…the Shadow Prince awakens, offering false crowns. He marries not for love—but for souls. The ring is not a gift—it is a claim.”
Her fingers trembled.
“Each yes seals their will. Each bride becomes a vessel. Their beauty masks their silence. Their smiles are borrowed.”
Tears welled in Elsa’s eyes. Her friends hadn’t left.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEEG8LVnLd
They hadn’t chosen anything.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtorLNoNEu9
They were taken.
Bound.
And now… she was the last.
That night, she didn’t try to resist sleep. She stood by the mirror, waiting.
The dream found her again.
Colder this time. Darker.
She stood once more in the ballroom—but it had changed. Now the chandeliers were black glass. The floor reflected her bare feet. Every step echoed like thunder.
And he was there.
The cloaked man.
But he was no longer just a shadow.
He shimmered—his form shifting constantly, never staying whole. His eyes were two pits of silence. His voice was a wind from the grave.
“Still unsure?”
Elsa stood firm, hands clenched. “Who are you really?”
He tilted his head. Slowly, the cloak slipped.
Beneath it, his face rippled like smoke, shifting between the faces of kings and strangers—some smiling, some weeping, some monstrous.
“I am what royalty fears: freedom from choice. Peace through surrender. I am the easy path.”
He stepped forward, holding the ring.
“Say yes, Elsa.”
She looked around.
Her friends were there, circling the ballroom like forgotten music boxes. Their veils drifted behind them. Their hands still held the flickering forms of their so-called grooms. Their eyes were shut.
Elsa took the ring.
Held it.
And smiled.
“No.”
She let it fall.
It hit the ground with a sound like thunder.
The ground cracked beneath her. The ballroom shattered.
The ceiling vanished. Darkness rushed in.
The glass floor broke, revealing a mirror beneath. From within, the Shadow Prince screamed—but it was not a human scream. It was hollow. Ancient. Hungry.
The brides turned.
For the first time, their eyes opened.
They saw Elsa.
She raised her hand—and light burst from her chest.
It wasn’t magic she had cast.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxUSE1crrV8
It was truth.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgCr4d4fEr5
Her choice.
The ring rose mid-air—shaking, resisting.
And then it shattered.
Like glass struck by lightning.
The Shadow Prince howled as he crumbled into ash, his cloak torn apart by the wind.
The spell broke.
One by one, the veils lifted.
The brides began to breathe. Their hands dropped. Their eyes cleared. The ballroom softened into light.
Elsa fell to her knees, breathless.
When she opened her eyes again, she was back in the castle’s grand hall.
Dawn filtered through the windows—not cold, but golden.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVo5hgK58vG
Warm.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnTOJS9P3mo
Free.
The ring in her lap… was now ash.
All around her, the princesses stood slowly. Blinking. Alive.
Serina moved to her side and gave her a faint smile. “You broke it.”
Elsa looked up at the rising sun, and whispered, “No. We did.”
Outside, bells rang once again.
But this time… they weren’t for weddings.
They were for freedom.
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