The soft sound of slippers shuffled down the hallway.
Tap... tap...Then a pause.Tap... again.
Jenna dragged her feet slowly across the smooth marble floor, one hand gripping the back of her bunny slipper to keep it from sliding off.
Her other hand held tight onto Lina's fingers — something she'd done ever since she could remember.
The estate was quiet in the mornings.
Way too quiet. Sunlight spilled through the tall windows, stretching long shadows across the polished floor.
The place looked clean and grand, but not warm. Not really.
A breeze rolled in from an open window. The big curtains shifted with a soft flapping sound.
Jenna pointed up. "Why do the curtains move?"
Lina didn't slow down. "The wind's saying good morning."
Jenna tilted her head. "Then the wind is nicer than my sisters…"
Lina didn't reply to that. She just squeezed her hand and kept walking.
Two maids walked past, holding trays with folded napkins stacked like puzzle pieces.
They didn't stop. Didn't even look.
Jenna frowned. "They always piss me off," she mumbled.
Lina stopped. "Excuse me, what did you just say?"
Jenna shrugged. "I heard it in my dream."
Lina crouched a little and looked her dead in the eyes.
"Jellybean. You're five. You can't go around saying stuff like that."
Jenna crossed her arms. "I'm not a jellybean. I'm not even a kid.
I'm just—"Her voice dropped. Her eyes unfocused, lips slightly parted.
"...Who am I?"
The question came out flat. Quiet. Like a rock dropped in a still pond.
Lina didn't answer right away.
She looked at her, not like a maid, but like someone who was scared of what Jenna might remember next.
Then she smiled, soft and warm, brushing a strand of hair from Jenna's cheek. "You're not a lady, and you're not a jellybean," she said. "You're my little princess."
She tapped Jenna's nose. "And little princesses don't say rude words, okay?"
Jenna's toe dragged across the floor. Her fingers twisted the edge of her nightdress. "...Sorry."
Lina's smile didn't fade. "That's better. Wanna see something?"
She pointed to the window. "The garden. The roses finally bloomed."
Jenna ran over to the glass and pressed her face to it.
The garden outside looked like something from a picture book — bright reds, soft whites, and gold-tinged roses swaying under the morning sun.
The fountain at the center sprayed water into the air like it was laughing.
Jenna's breath caught for a moment.
Something about the scene… shifted.
Her reflection in the glass blurred slightly. The light shimmered — not like sunlight, but like heat rising from a flame. And then—a voice. Distant. Familiar.
"C'mon, Jay! One last move!"
A flash — two figures over a wooden board.Hands. Laughter. A small carved knight in someone's hand.
Then it was gone.
Just the garden again. Roses, water, sunlight. Like nothing had happened.
Jenna blinked and stepped back, eyes a little wider than before.
"Jellybean?" Lina asked, her voice pulling her back.
"...Can we go there later?"
"To the garden?" Lina asked. "Sure. Right after brushing your teeth."
"Again? That's cruelty."
"And you," Lina said with a raised brow, "are so dramatic."
"Cruel maid," Jenna muttered under her breath.
"Unbrushed princess," Lina shot back.
They locked eyes.
Jenna cracked first and started to skip again. Skip-flop-skip. Her slipper went half airborne.
"Lina?"
"Yes, Toothless?"
"Do you think the jam will run away if I'm late?"
Lina gasped like a villain in a play. "It already did! Last I saw, it was riding a butter knife straight into battle."
Jenna's eyes widened. "NOOOO! We have to stop it!"
She ran, her nightdress flapping like a hero's cape.
"Tup-tup-tup!"
"Wait! Your toothbrush, Your Majesty!" Lina called out, jogging after her with half a laugh and half a sigh.
They sprinted down the golden hallway, past portraits, windows, and echoes of old silence.
And for a little while, Jenna forgot again.
Forgot the staring nobles. The whispers. The confusion in her chest.Even the strange memory that flickered behind the glass.
Because with Lina, mornings weren't just mornings.They were little quests.
And this one?
Saving breakfast from runaway jam.
She was just a little girl running after jam with someone who always stayed beside her.
And that felt like enough.
TO BE CONTINUED...