Chapter 4: The Search for Her

The glass slipper sat in my hands, delicate and perfect. It was the only proof I had that she was real, that our dance wasn’t a dream. I held it like a promise.

I would find her.

I rode through villages, knocked on doors, searched every street. I saw faces filled with hope, eyes desperate for a crown. But none of them were her.

The slipper was too small for some, too large for others. It never fit. My heart ached with every failure, but I wouldn’t stop....