_ <two days before the annual ball>_

_ “Atlas, do you ever wonder what would happen if you got picked as offering?” _

_ I remebered the dream I had had last night. I had been seeing through the eyes of last year’s offering, a petite dark-haired lady named Enzia. When her name had been called, I recalled being overwhelmed with a sense of panic. I wondered if that was what it felt like to be picked; I had always imagined that they had felt proud. _

_ “Nah,” Atlas said, trying to bend a dessert spoon, “The spirits love the Royal Family, and so do the people. I would never get picked, and neither would you.” _

_ I took comfort in this, and assisted Atlas in bending the spoon. _

_ _<present moment>

I looked around in panic as people gasped and parted around me. Suddenly, I knew my question from earlier had been answered. _There is nothing prideful about this. This is wrong. _

_ _I thought about running away, I thought about screaming and protesting. But then I remembered something my father had once said: “_Hold yourself with dignity. Not everything is about you._”

_This is for the peace of the country_, I told myself.

I took a deep breath and strode to the middle of the ballroom floor. The twelfth and tallest hooded spirit bent down and lifted me up into the air.

“_Behold, this year’s offering!_”

There was a flash of lightning, a moment of searing pain, and then everything went dark.

See, I know you’re wondering what happened after that. If I’m dead, then how am I telling this story?

Well, I know those sensible people will say “But she’s not _really _dead, she was actually saved at the last moment or something.”

Not true. I actually died, believe it or not. I was just very lucky to be chosen by someone who had the power to bring me back.

I woke up in a tiny cottage, and though it was stormy outside, I could slightly see the outline of the castle and the pink trees around it in the distance. I was lying on a lumpy mattress, and my muscles felt so stiff I couldn’t move. I had never been here, and yet it somehow felt.. _familiar. _

For a minute, I couldn’t remember who I was. For a second, I thought I was Enzia. _I’ve never even known an Enzia, _I remember. Only then did I remember that I was Lune, daughter of Aleksander, niece to the King and cousin to the Crown Prince.

Then I remebered why I was here. _I’m dead, _I realize,_ I’m in heaven. _

_ “_Hey_.” _

_ _If I could move, I would’ve jumped up in surprise. There, in the doorway, stood a very short version of the castle spirits.

“You’re finally awake,” It said, and it took off it’s hood. She was a pretty lady, with bleach blond hair and grey eyes. She didn’t look old, and yet her face was etched with worry, and it seemed like she was older than she should’ve been, if that makes sense.

“I bet you’re going to ask how long you were out,” she said, walking towards the bed, “It’s been six months since the annual ball.”

“I’m Luda. I know you’re confused, but you’ll be ok.” She left the room.

Half a year. Half a year I’ve been dead. _Maybe I am still dead_, I thought, _maybe she is an angel_.

I lay there for hours, until I began to feel my face again. I hesitantly whispered a small sentence:

“My name is Lune..”

A few minutes later, Luda came into the room again and sat down on the edge of my bed. She was no longer wearing the cloak, and instead sported cargo pants with lots of pockets and tools on them, and a light blue sweater.

“So,” She said after examining me for an uncomfortably long time, “do you have any questions?”

“S..So many.” My voice sounded like I had just eaten all the sand out of the Sahara desert. “Am I.. Am I dead?”

“Well.. In a way, yes.” She said slowly, refusing to make eye contact now that I was staring at her intently. “The spirits did take your life, no doubt about it. They just saw your heart and decided it was… Special, to put it simply. And so they graced you with a great blessing.”

“Wh..what ble-“ I coughed dryly, and Luda gave me a glass of water. After draining the glass, I continued.

“What blessing? If I died, how am I talking to you now? Is this heaven?”

“Lune, you’re not alive, but you’re not dead either. You’ve been chosen to join the Soproti.”

When I didn’t react, Luda sighed and shook her head.

“You’re a castle spirit now.”