The stone walls of Nadia’s tower pressed in around her, heavy with the weight of eighteen years of waiting. The moonlight filtered in through the narrow window, casting an ethereal glow over her room, and yet, all she could feel was the thrum of impatience beneath her skin.

She paced. Back and forth, her silk slippers whispering against the cold floor. It was supposed to be a comforting rhythm, the silent tick of time passing, but tonight—tonight, it felt different. Tonight, it felt like the end of everything.

She stood before the tall, ornate mirror that hung on the wall, studying herself for the last time.

The princess. The perfect princess.

Her golden hair flowed like strands of sunlight, framing a face that the kingdom had admired for years—pale, pristine, untouched by the outside world. She knew they called her the beauty, the one who could capture a prince’s heart with a glance. But tonight, her beauty felt like a cage, gilded and fragile.

Nadia’s gaze shifted to the wooden door, the one that had kept her prisoner for so long. No more waiting.

Her fingers trembled for a moment as she reached for the hidden catch in the stone floor—her escape route. But there was no turning back now. The moonlit path ahead, though fraught with danger, called to her louder than the silence of the tower ever had.

Taking a deep breath, she crouched, easing open the trapdoor with careful fingers, glancing over her shoulder as if the stone walls might whisper her secret.

She stepped into the narrow corridor beneath the tower, heart pounding. The air smelled of dust and age—of confinement. But somewhere in the distance, beyond the weight of stone and tradition, was freedom.

She moved swiftly at first, but her every step was calculated. She couldn’t afford to rush. The traps had always been a part of the tower, woven into its walls and floors by the one who’d once cared for her. They were designed for a princess who never asked questions, for a princess who waited. But Nadia was no longer that girl.

Her bare feet ghosted over the cold stone floor, avoiding the hidden pressure plates she knew all too well. A tiny click of the floor beneath her—just to the left—and she froze, her breath caught. That was close.

A sharp, dangerous hiss sounded from above. Another trap, a dart hidden in the ceiling.

She ducked just in time, her golden hair swishing narrowly out of the way, the tips grazing the floor as the dart missed her by inches.

“Careful,” she whispered to herself, adjusting the silk ribbon in her hair. It was too precious, her golden locks that everyone had adored. Too precious to let be ruined by carelessness.

Nadia continued to move, slower now, more deliberate. No longer just a princess, but a woman who was finally taking what was hers. And she wouldn’t let a single strand of hair be compromised in her escape. She had waited too long for this.

At the end of the corridor, she found the final trap—a barrier of sharp, gleaming thorns blocking the only exit. It was one she had forgotten about, something her captor had designed as a final test.

Nadia hesitated, her fingers brushing the thorns. They were so close to her face, inches from her skin. But there was no turning back now. With a final, steadying breath, she tilted her head, allowing the thorns to graze the back of her neck.

She winced as the first thorn pricked her skin, but she didn’t stop. She carefully threaded herself through the thorny barrier, her golden hair just barely avoiding the worst of it.

Finally, she stepped into the open air, her breath coming in sharp, excited gasps. The kingdom stretched before her, vast and endless.

The tower behind her seemed so small now. So far away.

The girl who waited had broken free.

And the woman who stepped into the world? She would never wait again.