A broken vessel

Gwendolyn no longer belonged.

The golden halls of the palace, once filled with warmth and laughter, now felt like a cold prison. Every corner whispered betrayal, every gaze carried mockery.

Her father—the man who once held her in his arms, the man who once called her his greatest treasure—no longer smiled at her.

He walked past her as if she was nothing. As if she had never been the daughter he had once cherished.

And Morganna…

Morganna sat beside him, where her mother once sat.

The woman who had stolen everything from her now played the role of queen, basking in the love and power that once belonged to Seraphina.

She wore her mother's crown.

She spoke in her mother's place.

And worst of all—she had turned the King against her.

"Father?" Gwendolyn had once tried to call out to him as he walked through the palace halls.

He had paused for only a moment.

Then, without a word, he continued walking.

That day, Gwendolyn understood.

She was no longer his daughter.

She was just another child of the King—one of the many.

Morganna and Darius treated her as such.

Where once they schemed against her in the shadows, now they openly made her feel unwanted.

Darius, the new heir, walked with pride. He no longer needed to whisper about his ambitions—they had been handed to him.

And so, he mocked her at every opportunity.

"How does it feel, sister?" he sneered one evening, as they passed each other in the corridor. "To fall from grace? To lose everything because you were foolish enough to think you were meant for the throne?"

Gwendolyn did not answer.

She had no words left to fight him with.

Darius laughed, enjoying the silence. "You should be grateful, really. You can finally embrace your true nature. A woman should not trouble herself with power. Perhaps Morganna will find a husband for you. Wouldn't that be fitting?"

Her nails dug into her palms, but she still said nothing.

She had no more fight left in her.

Gwendolyn was lost.

She was a broken vessel—shattered beyond repair.

And Morganna saw it.

She knew she had won.

But victory was never enough for Morganna.

Not until Gwendolyn was completely ruined.

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