Chapter 1: Chapter 1

The moonlight reflected off the golden hair of the princess as she stood in the centre of the garden, gazing up at the stars. They d been kind to her, she thought, shining on her when she needed it most.She was kind to everyone, it seemed, except herself. She had been kind to her sister, to her mother, to everyone but herself. It s time I stopped being so hard on myself, she thought, and on others. I need not be so unforgiving of myself and others. It doesn"t help anything.I must be kinder to myself and to others. It is the only way.

"Princess Charlotte," the soft, mellow voice of her step-mother, Queen Annalise, called out to her. "Come and see the fireworks."

"Fireworks?" Charlotte asked, her brows raised high. "Is that what they call them these days?