Chapter 4 THE GIRL THEY REMEMBERED

Zara didn't sleep after Kael left.

She lay awake for hours, staring at the painted ceiling above her bed, her mind looping through questions with no answers. What if someone from this world saw through her? What if Seraphina had enemies or lovers? Was she expected to know how to curtsy, or dance, or pour tea with her pinky in the air?

Her stomach twisted with dread.

At dawn, Sera arrived with a tray of breakfast and a tightly folded bundle.

"Bath's been drawn. The council has summoned you," the girl whispered, setting down the tray. "The king's advisors want to see that you've returned safely."

Zara stiffened. "When?"

"Two hours."

Two hours.

She barely had time to get used to the dress.

It was deep burgundy with gold embroidery heavy, stiff, and far too tight around the ribs. It took Sera and another maid to lace it up, and by the time Zara stood in front of the mirror, she could barely breathe.

She hardly recognized herself.

The woman staring back had high cheekbones, rich brown eyes, and full lips painted with crushed berry tint. Her dark curls had been pinned up into a braided crown, and her neck was bare except for the simple golden chain Sera insisted Seraphina had worn daily.

Zara swallowed hard.

"I don't know how to act like her," she admitted under her breath.

Sera met her gaze in the mirror. "You already are her. Whether your memory returns or not, your spirit remains."

Zara gave a weak smile. If only that were true.

---

The throne hall wasn't what she expected.

It wasn't grand and sparkling like the palaces in fairytales. It was dark, solemn built of stone and steel, with a domed ceiling and high windows that poured sunlight like waterfalls across the floor. Banners hung in the shadows, marked with the golden sun of Aurelia.

The chamber was already full.

Noblemen in long robes. Councilors in stiff collars. A few women in muted dresses, all whispering behind their hands. At the far end stood a raised dais,two thrones, one empty.

Kael was already there, standing beside the smaller throne with his hands clasped behind his back. He didn't look at her when she entered, but she felt his presence like gravity.

A herald stepped forward.

"Announcing Lady Seraphina Wynn of the Eastern Viceroy's line, betrothed to His Majesty."

Every eye turned to her.

Zara's throat went dry. She forced herself to walk forward. Slow. Steady. Sera had warned her not to look nervous, but not too proud either. As if there was a perfect balance she didn't have the luxury to master.

One misstep, and they'd call her an imposter.

She stopped just short of the dais.

A man in black robes with a chain of iron around his neck stepped forward. His eyes were sharp, calculating. He didn't bow.

"Lady Seraphina," he said. "It has been months since your disappearance. Some feared you were dead. Others... claimed treason."

Zara stiffened. "I was taken. I don't remember by who. I don't remember much of anything."

"You return with strange speech, strange manner, and no escort," the man said. "Forgive us if some are... skeptical."

Kael stepped forward, voice hard. "She bears the sun mark. And the ring."

Zara looked down. She hadn't noticed the ring thin, gold, resting on her finger like it belonged there. Had someone slipped it on her hand while she slept?

The councilman wasn't satisfied. "Memories can be stolen. Faces can be forged."

Kael didn't flinch. "And enemies can twist fear into poison."

Zara tried to breathe evenly. The pressure in the room was crushing.

A second councilor stepped forward. A woman this time, tall, silver-haired, and with eyes like clear glass.

"I remember you, child," she said softly. "You wept during your first meeting with the king. You told me you feared your heart would never be your own."

Zara blinked. "That... does sound like me."

The councilwoman tilted her head. "And you once told me you preferred cats over courtship. Does that still hold true?"

Zara hesitated. "I suppose I haven't changed that much."

A faint chuckle rippled through the chamber. The tension cracked but didn't break.

Kael's eyes flicked toward her, unreadable.

The first councilor, the one in black, scowled. "We will require further proof. Her memory is fragile. Her body, unfamiliar. If she is the Lady Seraphina, then let her prove it in time."

"She will," Kael said firmly.

The man turned. "And if she cannot?"

Kael's voice dropped. "Then I'll carry out her sentence myself."

Zara flinched. A part of her wondered if he meant that as a threat or a way to keep others from doing worse.

The king's throne remained empty. She wondered where he was. Who he was. If he would know instantly that she was lying.

The council dismissed her with a shallow bow and a murmur of uncertain approval.

Kael walked her back down the corridor without a word.

They didn't speak until they were alone.

"You held your ground," he said finally.

"I almost threw up," she admitted.

"You played the part well enough."

Zara stopped walking. "Do you want me to be her?"

He turned to face her.

"I want the truth," he said. "But if that's not possible, I'll settle for order. And survival."

She tilted her head. "Not loyalty?"

He didn't answer.

---

Back in her chamber, Zara sank onto the bed and pulled out her phone. 12% battery. She recorded another entry, her voice lower now.

"I'm still pretending. They think I'm Seraphina. One of the councilwomen believed me. The others... not so much. Kael says he wants truth, but I don't think even he knows what that means anymore."

She looked at the screen.

"I need to find out who Seraphina really was. I need to find her journals. Letters. Anything. If I can become her on the outside... maybe I'll survive long enough to figure out how to get back home."

She closed the app and looked out the window.

The wind carried the sound of bells in the distance.

But Zara knew better.

They weren't ringing in celebration.

They were warnings.

And she had just become the most watched woman in the kingdom.