The Crown Remembers
Ch1: My Dear Companion, Regret.
CH1: 𝓜𝔂 𝓓𝓮𝓪𝓻 𝓒𝓸𝓶𝓹𝓪𝓷𝓲𝓸𝓷, 𝓡𝓮𝓰𝓻𝓮𝓽
My gaze fixed upon the three silhouettes that stood before me-tall, unmoved, and wretchedly triumphant.
The very architects of my ruin.
That one... the one to the left-he who drove steel through my mother's heart.
That one beside him-he who forced my brother to watch as they broke my father, piece by piece.
And that one... that vile creature-he who held me fast, as I was made to witness it all.
How dare they stand before me as though they are kings?
How dare they meet my eyes without shame?
And worse-how dare they cage me?
Iron bit into my wrists, cold and unyielding. The chamber was naught but stone and shadow, a prison that knew no light save for the fleeting mercy of an opened door.
Duke Kahil's voice slithered through the dark as his hand fisted into my hair. He yanked my head back, and I hissed through clenched teeth.
Duke Kahil
Your final hour
Duke Martyr
Your husband has shielded you well
Duke Martyr added, his tone laced with cruel amusement. His hand swept across his throat in a slow, deliberate motion
Duke Martyr
But no longer. This day, we shall see your head parted from your body.
The word struck me with nothing but disdain.
Lilac Adonis
He is not my husband.
I spat, lifting my chin despite the pain.
A third figure stepped forward-no longer a mere duke, but a usurper crowned.
My father's crown-now defiled-rested upon his brow.
He mused, his gaze narrowing.
King Edward
Such contempt for the man who has preserved your life with unyielding devotion. I had thought you're unworthy-now I am certain. You are no different from the vermin who once called themselves royalty
Lilac Adonis
Dont you dare speak of them!
I roared, fury blazing within me.
Lilac Adonis
Your wretched cur, do not dare utter their names!
Kahil's grip tightened, forcing me back with another sharp pull, yet I did not yield.
They were royalty. True royalty.
Not this... mimic of a king.
Martyr scoffed, stepping nearer
Duke Martyr
You don't know the truth?
A chill crept beneath my skin.
Lilac Adonis
What do you mean?
Edward regarded me as one might a fool.
King Edward
Is the sole reason you yet draw a breath.
Duke Kahil
He stood against us
Kahil added with a bitter laugh
Duke Kahil
Against his own allies-against us-to spare you from the gallows where the rest of your kin so fittingly met their end.
Duke Martyr
He begged for your life
Duke Martyr
Cast aside his honour, endured our scorn, even forfeited the trust of those who once called him brother.
Edward's voice turned cold.
Duke Kahil
He has not lingered by your side,
Kahil went on, his voice sharp with disdain
Duke Kahil
Not because he did not wish to-but because we saw to it he could not. Always sent to the front lines, away to the battlefield... while we dealt with you.
The pieces fell together, cruel and merciless.
I breathed, though doubt gnawed at the edges of my resolve.
King Edward
Would that we did
King Edward
But truth is often more cruel than falsehood.
He stepped closer, his gaze piercing
King Edward
Tell me, princess-did you never wonder why you alone were spared?
King Edward
They were not as you believed
He continued, his voice lowering.
King Edward
Your father-a king in name, yet a tyrant in deed. Gold siphoned from his people, alliances bought with blood, and worse still-
King Edward
-the trafficking of innocents, sold like cattle beyond these lands.
I screamed, though my voice trembled.
Duke Martyr
Thy house was rotten
Duke Martyr
We merely brought it to light
The ground beneath me seemed to give way.
King Edward
And your husband
King Edward
Knew it all. Yet still, he chose you
The man I had despised...
The man I had rejected...
The man I had wounded without cease-
Had been the only one who stood between me... and this fate.
No, that could not be true.
My thoughts spiraled, clashing, tearing at one another as if my own mind sought to betray me next.
The people I had defended with blind devotion...
The people I had stood before, argued for, bled for-
My mother's gentle hands brushing through my hair.
My father's proud smile as he placed a crown of flowers upon my head when I was but a child.
My brother, laughing, shielding me from even the smallest harm.
My chest tightened, the memories now warping, twisting under the weight of what I had just heard.
And how much had I simply chosen not to see?
A broken sound left my throat.
The man I had humiliated.
The man I had turned my back on, time and time again-
While I stood beside them.
All this time... he had said nothing.
Not once had he defended himself.
Not once had he raised his voice against me.
The question clawed at me, unanswered, suffocating.
He lay far from this place-far from me-
Breathing, yet not awake.
A life hanging by a thread after a wound that should have claimed him entirely.
While fighting for a kingdom that had cast him aside.
For people who doubted him.
For a wife who had never once stood by his side.
And what had it cost him?
And I had given him nothing in return.
My vision blurred as tears spilled freely now, unstoppable, merciless.
If only I had looked closer.
If only I had chosen differently.
CH2: When Pride Met Death
CH2: 𝓦𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓟𝓻𝓲𝓭𝓮 𝓜𝓮𝓽 𝓓𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱
The memory struck without warning.
A chamber—bright, warm, untouched by the cold darkness she now knew.
Lilac Adonis
I told you not to touch my things!
Her voice echoed through the room, sharp enough to cut. A porcelain goblet slipped from her hand—not by accident—and shattered at his feet.
Lilac Adonis
I am speaking to you!
She snapped, stepping closer.
Lilac Adonis
Or have you grown deaf along with your arrogance?
His gaze remained lowered, his hands clasped behind his back as though he stood before a queen—not his wife.
The sight only fueled her anger.
Lilac Adonis
You dare call yourself my husband?
Lilac Adonis
A man forced upon me through politics, through schemes—do not mistake that for authority.
Before she could stop herself—no, she did not want to stop herself—her hand struck across his face.
His head turned slightly with the impact, but he did not raise a hand in return.
Did not even look at her.
Lilac Adonis
You will not touch me. You will not command me. And you will never—
Her voice shook with fury
Lilac Adonis
—never be my lord.
Something passed through his eyes—too quick to name.
He lowered his gaze further.
And she hated him for it.
Another object followed—the nearest thing within reach. It struck his shoulder and fell, useless, like her rage that demanded a reaction it would never receive.
Lilac Adonis
Say something!
Lilac Adonis
Defend yourself, for once!
Enduring every word. Every strike. Every insult.
As though he believed he deserved it.
Perhaps that was what angered her the most.
A bitter laugh escaped her lips, hollow in the damp silence of the dungeon, as she forced the image away—another moment she wished she could forget.
Her mind had not known peace since the truth had been laid bare before her.
She would have denied it. She would have fought it, dismissed it as yet another cruel lie—had Duke Kahil not placed the proof before her with his own hands.
Each one stripping away her illusions, piece by piece, until there was nothing left to hide behind.
She had wronged her husband.
And worse—she had stood beside monsters, defended them, loved them… called them family.
The three men had left her soon after, granting her an hour before her execution.
Forty-five minutes had already passed.
Yet to her throbbing mind, it felt like an eternity.
She let her head fall back against the moss-covered wall, eyes closing as exhaustion weighed her down. She had cried until no tears remained, screamed until her voice gave out, clawed at her own skin until angry marks scarred her arms.
Now, she sat curled into herself, knees drawn to her chest.
How could she have called herself a princess?
What right had she ever had to that title?
A broken breath left her.
How she wished—just once—to see him.
To fall at his feet, to beg, to plead, to tell him the words she had never once allowed herself to speak.
And yet, another question burned just as fiercely.
Why had he endured it all—for someone who had given him nothing but rejection?
Her fingers curled tightly into her sleeves as her chest tightened.
He was the only one who could answer.
He lay far from her reach… unmoving, silent, caught between life and death.
She would never get the chance to ask.
A knock echoed against the heavy door.
Duke Martyr
It’s time, princess.
The mocking voice made her stomach twist as Duke Martyr stepped inside, guards trailing behind him.
They pulled her to her feet, chains clinking softly, and guided her out of the cell—out toward her end.
Now she stood upon the platform.
The guillotine loomed beside her, its blade catching the dull light like a promise of finality. Below, a crowd had gathered—hundreds of faces, all waiting to watch the fall of a prideful princess.
Some stared with burning anger—whether meant for her or for Edward, she could not tell.
They forced her into place, her head lowered onto the cold wood.
King Edward
Any last words, Lilac?
Her mother’s favorite flower. The name she had once spoken with such warmth.
How ironic… that something so gentle had belonged to someone capable of such cruelty.
Her mind was no longer steady—everything within her had collapsed, like a kingdom reduced to ruins.
Edward sighed, clearly unimpressed, and began speaking—some declaration, some justification—but his voice faded beneath the ringing in her ears.
The executioner stepped forward.
The rope was drawn tight.
Her eyelids fluttered, heavy… ready to close.
The voice cut through everything.
Through the blur of the crowd—
Blood staining his clothes, his body swaying as though each step was a battle of its own. He pushed forward, ignoring the guards, reaching for her—
And in that final moment—
With the unbearable weight of everything she had never said.
Her gaze locked onto him—
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