The castle was quiet now. No more echoes of the prince's cruel laughter, no more clattering footsteps of his soldiers. The air, once thick with the tension of impending doom, had lifted, leaving only the soft hum of magic in the distance. The world outside felt far away, as though we had crossed some invisible threshold into a new era, one that neither Cinderella nor I could have fully prepared for.
I stood at the edge of the ruined hallway, my hands still trembling from the battle. The weight of the last few hours pressed on me like a mountain, but there was something else too—a lightness, a freedom. We had done it. We had defeated him. The prince's power was broken, his grip on Cinderella shattered. For the first time in what felt like forever, I could breathe.
Cinderella was beside me, her eyes fixed on the ruined walls of the castle. She hadn't said much since the battle had ended. Her gaze was distant, as though she were processing something deeper than just the defeat of her father. I could feel the same unease stirring inside me. We had won, but the victory felt... hollow in a way. There was so much that had been lost along the way.
The power that still pulsed within Cinderella was undeniable. It had been the prince's gift, his curse, but now it was hers, fully hers. The question lingered between us—what would she do with it? What would we do with it?
I stepped closer to her, the question I had been avoiding finally breaking free. "What now, Cinderella?"
She turned to me slowly, her expression unreadable, as if she were still trying to grasp the enormity of the change that had occurred. Her eyes flickered with something—uncertainty, maybe? But there was a strength there too, a strength I hadn't seen in her before.
"I don't know," she said quietly, her voice softer than usual. "Everything's different now. The world... it feels different."
I nodded, understanding exactly what she meant. We had toppled a ruler, but we had also upended the very balance of power. The prince was gone, but what now? Who would rise to take his place? Who would lead?
"Are you... are you going to try to take his place?" I asked, unable to stop myself from wondering. "You have the power, you could—"
"No." Cinderella's voice was firm, cutting through my thoughts. She looked at me, her expression determined. "I don't want this power. Not the way he did. I won't be a ruler like him."
I sighed in relief, but a new tension settled in my chest. "Then what? What happens to all this power?"
Cinderella hesitated, her fingers tracing the outline of the mark on her chest—the same one that had once been a symbol of the prince's control over her, but now seemed to represent something different. Something more. "I don't know," she said again, her voice almost lost. "But I don't want to keep it for myself. It's... too much."
For a long time, we stood there in the silence, each of us trying to make sense of the world that had been shattered and reshaped by the events of the past few days. I wanted to ask her what would come next, but I could see the weight of it all in her eyes. She wasn't ready for answers, not yet.
"I think we need to leave," I said softly, breaking the silence. "Get away from here. From everything."
Her eyes met mine, and for the first time since we'd met, I saw something that looked like peace in her gaze. "Yeah," she agreed. "I think that's a good idea."
The decision was made. We didn't have a clear destination, no map, no plans. But we didn't need them. We had each other, and for the first time in a long time, that was enough. The future was uncertain, but I couldn't help but feel that maybe that was what made it worth living for.
We left the castle together, stepping out into the open air, the weight of its walls finally behind us. The world outside was just beginning to awaken, the sun rising on a new day, a new beginning. The world had been changed by our actions—by the fall of the prince, by the rise of Cinderella's power. But the question remained: What kind of world would we make?
I glanced at Cinderella as we walked through the gates of the castle. Her expression was unreadable, but I could see the hint of a smile on her lips, small but real. She had fought for this moment, and now, it was hers to shape.
"You know," I said, breaking the silence again, "there's a whole world out there. We could go anywhere."
Cinderella's smile grew a little wider, her eyes finally lighting up. "Anywhere, huh?"
"Anywhere."
She thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Then let's find out."
As we walked into the unknown, the sound of birds overhead and the light of the sun warming our skin, I realized that we were no longer running from something. We were running toward something. Our own future.
And whatever it was, we would face it together.