Prologue

It's been nearly a year since I have returned.

The first few months were bliss – weeks of parades and celebration. And the wedding. There was nothing more that I could ask for, nor did I want anything else. I was truly happy. Content.

Then, cries of happiness stopped drifting into my bedroom window. It happened bit by bit that I hadn't even noticed when it stopped altogether. Thinking nothing of it, I went on with my usual business. Spent time with Flynn, Rode Maximus for a while, painted, read; Only at noon had I noticed something unsettling. I had finished the usual activities I would do in a day, in three hours. Not only that, it wasn't even the least bit gratifying. I realized then, with a mixture of dread and confusion, that the castle, no, this world, is just another tower – a tower with more activities perhaps, but a tower nonetheless. And no matter what I do, the thought chilled me to the bone, and the image of Gothel's wicked, smiling face haunted me along with it.