Chapter 1: The Unseen and the Crown

Annora Oluchi Auclair

I pull the final pin from Livia’s hair, letting her curls tumble down her back. She turns to me with a grateful smile, her green eyes glimmering with excitement.

“You should be out there, Annora,” she whispers, adjusting the lace on her sleeves. “It’s the Coronation Ball! When will we ever see a night like this again?”

I laugh softly, smoothing out the folds of my gown. “And do what? Dance with nobles who don’t even know my name?”

Elsa, another maid, nudges me. “You’re too modest. They’d line up if they had any sense.”

I shake my head, smiling at their teasing. They are my family in a way, fellow servants who understand what it means to live in the shadows of grandeur. But unlike them, I am not bound to the kitchens or scullery. I tend to the palace halls, arrange the Queen’s chamber, and ensure the royal guests have all they need. A quiet, invisible role, until tonight.

Tonight, we are given a rare gift, permission to attend the Coronation Ball, to watch as King Alaric Castile claims his throne. A night where the lines between servant and noble blur, if only for a moment.

I glance toward the ballroom doors. “I should go. If I linger too long, someone will notice.”

Livia gives my hand a squeeze. “Enjoy it, Annora. Just for one night.”

With a nod, I step away, smoothing my skirts as I slip into the crowd.

The flickering candlelight catches the gold embroidery on my gown, making it shimmer like captured sunlight. It is simple by noble standards yet elegant—too fine for a servant, too modest for a lady. I was never meant to be here, amidst these gilded creatures who sip spiced wine and whisper behind delicate fans. And yet, here I stand, an interloper in a world that does not belong to me.

My name is Annora, though once, long ago, I had another. A name spoken in a softer tongue, murmured by lips that smelled of warm spices and honeyed milk, my mother’s lips. She was Igbo, a woman of fierce beauty and quiet strength, her eyes dark as rich earth, her voice a lullaby even when firm. My father, a French merchant with a silvered tongue, stole her heart, and together they created me, a girl of two worlds, yet belonging to neither.

I remember little of my mother beyond the fragments of songs she hummed at night, the press of her arms—a fortress against the world. But memory is a fickle thing, slipping like mist through my fingers. I was taken from her before I could truly know her. Sold. Given. Stolen. Whatever. The truth has been rewritten so many times that even I no longer know which version to believe.

The palace became my prison and my home, a gilded cage where I learned the art of servitude. To bow my head. To listen without hearing. To move unseen yet always present. The nobles do not see me, not truly—I am just another shadow in their grand halls, a ghost flitting between their intrigues. But I see them. I know their secrets, their sins, their whispered desires. I have watched them for years, mastering the delicate dance of invisibility.

Yet some remain beyond my reach. The King and his inner circle—shrouded in silence, their affairs hidden behind heavy doors and darker whispers. Few enter the King's chambers, and those who do rarely speak of what they see. Some disappear entirely, swallowed by the castle’s depths, vanishing into legend. Perhaps they have simply learned the art of being both seen and unseen, as I have.

But tonight, I am seen.

The air is thick with jasmine and burning wax, mingling with the musk of too many bodies. The music swells—a haunting melody spun by nimble fingers on a lute, winding through the revelers like a spell. I should be tending to the guests, ensuring their goblets remain full. Instead, I stand at the ballroom’s edge, caught between uncertainty and something deeper—something that holds me in place.

Then, I feel it. A presence.

A gaze, heavy, deliberate, searing through the press of bodies.

It finds me.

The weight of it presses against my skin, an unspoken command. My breath stills. Slowly, I turn, my heart a drumbeat in my chest.

And my eyes meet his.

.

.

.

Alaric Castile

The ballroom glows with golden light, a hundred chandeliers reflecting off gilded moldings and towering marble columns. Shadows flicker across the domed ceiling, weaving in time with the noble guests who glide across the polished floor in practiced elegance. The scent of roses and jasmine lingers in the air, mingling with roasted meats, spiced wine, and honey-drizzled pastries—an indulgence laid out upon endless velvet-draped tables, a feast fit for kings.

Tonight, that king is me.

It is my Coronation Ball, the night where the realm welcomes its new ruler, not as a prince, but as sovereign. The weight of the crown still presses against my brow; its cool metal a reminder of the unyielding duty I now bear. This night is meant to be one of triumph, of celebration, of alliances forged over whispered oaths and lifted goblets. The lords and ladies have gathered in all their finery, eager to pledge their fealty, eager to secure their place in my reign.

The court moves in rhythmic precision, their silken skirts sweeping like waves in a tide dictated by the musicians perched high on the carved balcony. Laughter spills from clusters of nobility, their jeweled fingers gesturing, their lips curling over half-truths, and veiled threats masked as idle gossip. It is a world of beauty, refinement, and power wrapped in pleasantries.

And yet, as I watch them, I find myself… bored.

The same games, the same false devotion, the same smiles stretched just a touch too thin. I am their king, the axis upon which their world turns, and yet tonight, I feel removed from them, watching from a place just beyond reach. They revel in the luxury I provide, but there is nothing here I have not seen before.

Then, a shift.

It is imperceptible—no sound, no movement, but something felt. A ripple in the air, a pull like the hush before a storm. My gaze, drawn without intention, seeks the source.

And then, I see her.

She does not belong here.

Standing at the edge of the hall, half-shrouded in shadow, her presence is a quiet defiance against the brilliance of the court. She is unlike the women who parade before me, their finery meant to dazzle, their beauty a carefully honed weapon. Her dress is plain, its fabric lacking the decadent embroidery of those who seek my favor. And yet, on her, it is regal.

The candlelight catches her skin, kissed by the sun, giving it a glow deeper than any pearl. Her dark, almond-shaped eyes are wide, filled with something I cannot yet name. Surprise, perhaps. Or something deeper, something that stirs in me like the echo of a forgotten dream.

Her lips—full, unpainted, untouched by vanity—part as she realizes I am watching her.

I am a man of control, \I do not allow distractions, least of all those as fleeting as attraction. But this… this is not trivial.

The scent of her reaches me, subtle but undeniable. It is not the perfumed oils of the court, nor the faint lavender of the servants’ baths. It is something richer, wilder, something that sinks into my senses and refuses to let go.

Who is she?

My feet move before I can command them otherwise, cutting through the revelry, through the meaningless conversations and empty flatteries. The music fades, and the voices of my guests dissolve into distant murmurs.

There is only her now.

The girl who does not belong.

The girl who, with nothing but a look, has ensnared a king.

For a moment, neither of us move.

The air between us stretches thin, taut with something unspoken. The din of the ballroom—the laughter, the music, the murmured gossip—fades into nothing but a distant hum. My world, once rigid and predictable, narrows to a single point.

Her.

I take a step forward, drawn by a force I do not understand. She does not turn away, but I see the shift in her, shoulders tensing, fingers twitching against the fabric of her gown. A deer catching the scent of the hunter.

I do not wish to frighten her. But I must know who she is.

Another step.

Then, as if the moment shatters, she moves.

A flicker of motion—swift, instinctual. She turns sharply, the hem of her dress catching on the polished floor as she disappears into the crowd. There’s a hesitation, a fleeting glance over her shoulder, just once, before she slips between the revelers with the ease of someone who has spent a lifetime knowing how to vanish.

I press forward.

“Move.”

My voice is low, but commanding. The nobles in my path instinctively part, though their glances brim with confusion. I do not care. I follow her, eyes scanning the sea of guests, catching only fleeting glimpses of dark hair, of golden embroidery vanishing into the throng.

She is fast.

I weave through shifting bodies, the perfume-heavy air thick around me. My gaze darts from figure to figure, searching for the girl who has unraveled something within me in mere moments.

But she is gone.

I halt near a marble column, my breath steady despite the chase. Around me, the ball continues as if nothing has happened, as if the world has not just tilted on its axis.

Who are you?

A small chuckle rumbles in my throat. My lips twitch at the corner, amusement flickering through my frustration. It has been a long time since anyone dared to flee from me—longer still since anyone intrigued me enough to try.

But I am not a man who is easily denied.

I lift my chin, eyes scanning the ballroom, but I already know.

I will find her.