It should have felt cheerful. Cheer had always felt fragile to Esther. Something painted on the surface was meant to distract from what lay beneath.
But behind the bright fabrics and loud voices, Esther saw a another truth.
Dozens of tired travelers lingered near the outer gates. Children slept curled against satchels. A few families camped near the well with nothing but threadbare blankets.
Lyssara surveyed the crowded square with a scowl. “Refugees?”
“They’re from the most recent attack on Ryzik. I heard the whole town was turned to shambles,” Teren said from a safe distance, behind a wagon.
Esther’s heart squeezed.
She had grown up learning the names of flowers and formal dances while her people learned how to run. The imbalance sat heavily in her chest.
She knew her father had kept her sheltered, blind to political strife, but she couldn’t believe she’d been so ignorant of her people’s suffering.
She watched a young mother hush a crying toddler as she stirred thin porridge over a small fire. Another man frantically bartered with a vendor, holding out a cracked toy in exchange for bread.
Esther looked away too late. The image lodged itself behind her eyes, unwelcome and permanent.
The caravan rolled into the central square. Merchants approached immediately, greeted their hired protectors, and handed over payment. The guild ledger was signed. A few people clapped. Others bowed gratefully.
One of the goats tried to eat the ledger. Nythir stopped it just in time, but the goat glared at him like it was personal. Esther almost laughed. Almost. The sound never made it out.
Payment done, Lyssara stretched and said, “We should head to the orphanage to rest.”
“Rest sounds nice,” Vorrik yawned. “But what about food?”
“We’ll have food at the house,” Lyssara replied, her tone sharp like a mother scolding a child. “Now, let’s go.”
Nythir held out his hand to Esther, and she took it. She didn’t overthink it—she needed the grounding, even if the touch made her heart trip over itself. Grounding had become a skill she borrowed from others when she couldn’t find it herself.
The orphanage stood at the far end of town, nestled between a tailor’s shop and a candle maker. Its pale stone walls and bright blue shutters gave it a sturdy, welcoming look. Someone had painted stars along the sign:Stardrop Orphanage.
Despite its size, the building seemed far too small for the number of children who poured from every corner—chasing each other through narrow paths, playing with carved toys, or sitting quietly with bowls of soup. Older teens carried wood or tended to the little ones.
Everywhere Esther looked, she saw too many children for one home. Her throat tightened. Numbers blurred together. Faces did not.
Nythir opened the front door. Voices and warmth spilled out. Long tables stretched wall to wall, bowls of stew simmered on a counter, and a few cots were tucked into corners.
A woman stood near the hearth, stirring a large pot. Her hair was streaked with silver, her skin sun-worn, her expression a careful balance of kindness and exhaustion.
She turned to greet them—and froze. Her ladle slipped from her hand as she stumbled a step forward.
“Estella,” she whispered, though the name sounded far too loud to Esther.
The name struck like a physical blow. Esther had spent years hearing it spoken carefully, reverently, never like this—raw and accidental.
The woman approached slowly, wonder in her eyes, reaching as if to touch a memory.
“No,” she murmured. “Your hair is shorter. Your eyes are younger. Forgive me… for a moment I thought…” She pressed a trembling hand to her mouth. “I thought the Queen had walked through my door again.”
Esther stepped back, her breath hitching.
The woman blinked away tears and looked at her anew. “You are her daughter,” she said, voice firm and final.
Esther’s heart froze. She had never expected anyone to recognize her this far from the palace—and yet she was recognized because she looked like her mother. Recognition had always been her greatest fear. It meant expectation.
“I have waited for you,” the woman breathed. “For years. Estella said the princess would come here when the time was right. She described you. She told me to watch the travelers. She told me to look for golden light.”
