Chapter75: The Crown on the Princess

*Roxy* Golden Elm is like something out of a dream I was never allowed to have. The castle is woven into the hillside with silver stone. There’s a gentleness to it—strong, but warm. Not like the cold tower I was locked in. This place feels... alive. My mother—Lorna, I remind myself, trying to wrap my heart around the word—leads me through the grand archway. Her hand brushes mine gently, not pulling, just offering. I take it. “It’s not as grand as some of the others,” she says with a smile, “but it’s home.” Home. That word lands hard in my chest. Inside, the halls are lined with tapestries in red and gold. Light pours through stained glass windows, and servants and guards alike bow their heads as we pass, treating me like a daughter coming home. My mother leads me up a staircase that curves like the limb of a tree, the railing polished smooth by time and hands. We don’t speak as we climb. There’s too much between us: grief, wonder, hope and years lost. We reach a hallway with a wooden d