At a corner, Samantha saw Katherine being whipped by two guards. She was clearly in pains. Samantha wondered what Katherine could have done to have caused this punishment. Princess Samantha couldn't bear seeing her maids being whipped like an animal. Does an animal even deserve to get whipped? Not to talk of a human being. Her heart ached and wrenched in pain.
Katherine's back arched as the whip cracked against her skin. The force of it drew a sharp cry from her lips, though she tried—desperately—to bite it back. She trembled where she knelt, shackled, her breaths coming in ragged gasps. The pain burned, seared into her spine like fire etched into flesh.
Nearby, Samantha stood frozen, helpless. Her fists clenched at her sides, nails digging into her palms. Every lash that landed on Katherine's back landed somewhere inside Samantha too. She wanted to scream, to strike, to stop it all. But she was not allowed—not yet.
Her eyes locked on the whip as it rose again, gleaming slightly in the torchlight before it struck.
"She's just a girl!" Samantha burst out, unable to stay silent. "She's in pain. Can't you see that?"
But the guards didn't stop.
Katherine's head hung low. Blood mixed with the torn threads of her tunic, dripping slowly onto the stone floor. And yet… she didn't cry. Not anymore. Her tears had dried up hours ago.
Samantha stepped forward, but a soldier blocked her path.
"No," he said firmly. "You were not given orders to interfere."
Samantha's voice cracked. "She's being tortured! She's done nothing!"
The soldier didn't budge. Samantha's heart thundered in her chest. It wasn't just Katherine. There were others—others like her who had been mistreated, whipped, silenced, forced to obey without question. All because they were born in the wrong house, or lacked power, or failed to fit the Queen's twisted mold.
Samantha looked around at the rest of the room. Other maids and servants stood pressed against the walls, their eyes downcast, trying not to watch, trying not to cry.
And in that moment, something in Samantha shattered.
These people—these girls—had been given no choice. They'd been dragged into a war of obedience and control. No one asked them if they wanted to serve. No one cared what they dreamed of. They were tools, expendable, and when they broke, another was dragged in to take their place.
Samantha's voice dropped low, but it burned with resolve. "People who aren't born with wealth… they should still have a say in their fate. They shouldn't be forced into silence."
Katherine's breathing slowed. Samantha stepped toward her again, even as the guards warned her back.
Something had to change. And maybe… it would start with her.
" stop it!!!" Sam screamed as she couldn't hold in her anger anymore.
Sam's cry of pain was heard again by her inner self. At that moment, it stirred in her like a new soul waking up at the rise of the sun. The power that lived inside Samantha was greater than any other but no one knew. This was her inner self that heard her cry and then....
All of a sudden, out of nowhere, blue lights shone brightly from within her and it expanded taking command of the zone.
The ground trembled—first a murmur, then a growl. It began with a shuddering thrum beneath the surface, like the heartbeat of something ancient waking from slumber. Then, without warning, a thunderous boom split the air. It wasn't just a sound—it was a force, a wave of pressure that sent birds screaming into the sky, rattled the trees, and threw even the largest guards into the air like ragdolls.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Dust spiraled into the air, cloaking everything in a hazy veil. When the wind cleared it just enough to see, the courtyard lay scattered with bodies—guards groaning or eerily still. Only three remained upright, conscious, and breathing: Katherine, Louis, and Samantha.
Samantha's ears rang. Her vision blurred for a heartbeat as she stood still in the center of the blast zone. The world tilted, her pulse roaring in her ears. Something had just happened. Something unnatural. Her eyes flicked sharply around, searching for a figure—someone she thought she heard just before the explosion.
But there was no one.
Just the fading echo of power.
Unbeknownst to the others, Louis had already vanished. He hadn't run—he'd turned invisible, his natural instinct kicking in. From his unseen vantage point, he watched Samantha with silent curiosity. Something about her had changed.
Samantha turned back toward the crumpled figure on the ground—Katherine. She was on her knees, trembling, her face pale with shock. Without hesitation, Samantha rushed to her, dropping beside her as if the world had narrowed to this one girl.
"You're so weak," Samantha murmured, a crack of sorrow in her voice. "I'm sorry they treat you like this. I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner."
Katherine stirred, blinking slowly as recognition slowly dawned in her eyes. Her lips trembled. "Your... your highness?"
Samantha smiled, the corners of her mouth pulling upward with bittersweet weight. She hadn't heard that title in so long—from someone who said it with reverence, not mockery. "Yes," she said softly. "It's me."
Katherine's eyes widened. Her hands reached toward Samantha, as if touching her would make it real. "How… how can it be? You… you disappeared. They said—"
Samantha lifted a gentle hand to her lips, silencing her with a single finger. "Shh," she whispered. "Let this be a surprise. For now, I need you to trust me and keep this secret. No one else can know just yet."
Katherine's breath hitched. Tears spilled down her cheeks, mingling with the dust smeared across her face. "Can you promise me this is real? That you're not just another illusion?"
"I promise," Samantha said, with a weight behind the words that made them feel like stone. "With anything I have."
And Louis, still invisible, saw everything.
He saw the calm in Samantha's eyes that belied the storm she had just unleashed. He saw the way she held Katherine—not like a princess, not like a warrior, but like someone who had chosen to carry another's pain. And he knew, in that moment, that whatever explosion had rocked the castle wasn't caused by an enemy.
It had come from her.