All Chapters of The Rose Princess They Lost Twice: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

The room went so quiet I could hear a candle wick spit.Rowan ducked behind Mother, his face bloodless. "Why is she still talking?"He didn't call me his sister.Father recovered first. He yanked the black cloak from his shoulders as though he could hide the silver lilies embroidered along its hem - the royal symbol for a funeral."You're alive," he said too quickly, without meeting my eyes. "That's good. Of course it's good."Mother still held a bundle of winter roses meant for my coffin. Their thorns had pierced her palm, but she didn't seem to feel it.I almost laughed. The night before, Father had held me against his chest and sworn that, in another life, he would choose to be my father again. Mother had kissed my forehead and promised to visit my grave every day.Yet one extra sunrise had turned me into a stranger who had crawled out of her tomb.Breakfast was served in the Sun Hall. For eighteen years, my chair had always been closest to the fire, and my silver plate had always h

Chapter 2

Three days later, I was removed from my chambers.Mother claimed Rowan needed the eastern apartments for his heir trials. They stood close to the training yard and council hall, while I, being an "adult with no official duties," could temporarily move to the North Tower.The North Tower had once stored moth-eaten tapestries and rusted armor. Ivy covered the windows so completely that moonlight couldn't get in. The maids stacked my books and gowns against the wall and hurried away without unpacking them.Rumors spread before nightfall.The curse hadn't failed, some whispered. It had changed shape. Others said I had survived by draining luck from the kingdom. A few suggested Rowan might now be the one marked for death.Father didn't lift a finger to stop them. Mother dismissed the two women assigned to my rooms because the crown shouldn't "waste servants on an idle princess."I tried to prove I wasn't a burden.I checked the guest list for Mother's winter ball, copied tax ledgers for Fat

Chapter 3

The winter hunt blessing had filled Rose Palace with celebration that day.Father and Mother had gone to the temple, leaving the two of us behind. Rowan arrived at the North Tower in a new heir's cloak, Father's silver sword hanging at his hip. He looked every inch the future king everyone believed he would become.He stood in the doorway for a long moment. "Do you hate me?""Why would I?""Since you lived, everyone keeps saying the things that should've been yours will pass to me."I poured warm milk and pushed the cup toward him. "I never wanted to fight you for anything."He watched the steam instead of drinking. "I hated you sometimes."The confession landed harder than Mother's hand."Father gave you the first pony. Mother gave you Grandmother's sapphire. Whenever I asked why, they said it was because you were dying." His eyes turned bright. "When I was little, I used to wish your birthday would hurry up and come."Before I could answer, he ran.A few minutes later, the North Towe

Chapter 4

The fever blurred day and night until they became the same gray stretch of cold.I lay curled on the North Tower bed while eighteen years of memories drifted past me.At five, I had fallen in the snow and scraped my knee. Father carried me across the entire palace without noticing that his crown had rolled down the stairs.At eight, I coughed twice, and Mother sat beside me until dawn, feeding me medicine with her own hands.When Rowan first learned to write, the first word he copied was my name. He tucked the crooked scrap of parchment under my pillow and told me, "When you're dead, don't forget me."We had all believed death would preserve our love forever.But love could rot, too.All it took was for the person being loved to miss her appointed death.I reached beneath the bed and pulled out the old wooden chest. My birthday letter lay inside. With numb fingers, I added one final sentence beneath the farewell I had written.[I'm sorry I lived a few days longer than I was supposed to

Chapter 5

"I've spent eighteen years studying Morvena's curse," she said. "You fools thought Aurelia only had to survive her birthday night. That was never what the curse meant."Father stumbled back. "Then what did it mean?""Death would hunt her from the moment she turned eighteen until the moment she turned nineteen. Every day of this year was dangerous." Silver light flared beneath Seraphina's skin. She stared at her hands, and the anger on her face collapsed into horror."Since the day Aurelia was born, part of my life-force has flowed into her to sustain the life I gave her. When she turned eighteen, I forced more and more magic through our bond to keep Morvena's curse from closing around her." Her voice broke into a desperate shout. "A moment ago, the flow stopped. The magic came rushing back to me. That can only happen if her life is no longer there to receive it.""Why are you still standing here? Go! Something has happened to Aurelia!"For one stunned heartbeat, no one moved. Then Fath

Chapter 6

The letter had gone soft with sweat in my dead hand. Father carefully unfolded it and read the first line I had written on my birthday.[Dear Father, Mother, and Rowan,][By the time you read this, I should be asleep in the royal cemetery. Thank you for giving me eighteen happy years. Please don't blame the witch, and don't be sad for too long. Being your daughter and sister was more than enough for me.][Rowan, the coins in the little deer purse are yours. I meant to buy you a coming-of-age sword, but you can use them to mend the winged hart's antler instead.]The last line was fainter than the rest.[I'm sorry I lived a few days longer than I was supposed to.]Father couldn't finish aloud. He pressed the letter to his forehead and knelt on the frozen floor, saying my name over and over until it no longer sounded like a word.Mother refused to release my body. When the maids tried to change my bloodstained dress, she drove them away."I made this for her."Then she saw the frayed slee

Chapter 7

One month after my death, black thorns began growing through Rose Palace.They pushed from the cracks of the North Tower, crawled along the corridors, and spread through the ballroom and council chamber until they wrapped themselves around Father's throne.Court mages tried fire, holy water, and every banishment spell in their books. Whenever they burned one vine, ten more burst from the stone.Father finally raised a hand. "Leave them."The chancellor stared at him. "Your Majesty, they'll tear the palace apart.""Then let them." He looked at the thorns until his eyes turned hollow. "They're only showing us what she felt."The kingdom began to fracture. The northern duke withheld tribute, claiming the royal line was cursed. Spring floods tore through the southern valley. Ministers who had once agreed that I brought disaster resigned one after another, terrified Morvena's revenge would find them next.The people believed the princess had died of an ancient curse.Father went to the city

Chapter 8

Morvena saw me as clearly as Seraphina did.Her black skirts moved over the snow without leaving tracks, and every white rose she passed darkened to red."They lost a crown, a pretty face, and an inheritance," she said. "So what?"She stopped in front of me, almost gentle."When you begged for water, your father was signing decrees for Rowan's heir trials. Your mother heard you cry and walked away. Your brother let you take the blame because telling the truth would have cost him their love."With each sentence, the thorn in my chest drove deeper.I saw Father kneeling at my grave. I saw Mother's gray hair and bent shoulders. I saw Rowan fastening plain armor while enemy horns sounded beyond the walls.I felt no satisfaction.Only exhaustion.Morvena held out her hand. "Come with me."The forest shifted behind her, revealing a palace of black roses and silver fire."You can be queen of the Thornlands. Your parents will kneel before the North Tower forever. Every step Rowan takes will re

Chapter 9

Rain fell over Silvermoon Forest when I woke.The first drop touched my lashes, and for a moment I thought it was Mother's tear. Then I realized no one from my family was at the grave.They had all gone to defend the city.The northern army had breached the outer wall. Father stood in the front line with an ordinary soldier's sword. Rowan, limping on his badly healed leg, was helping families escape through the southern gate. Mother had filled the palace ballroom with wounded men, frightened children, and blood-soaked linen.They had no idea I was alive.Seraphina wrapped a gray cloak around my shoulders. "Do you want to see them?"Rose Palace burned red against the horizon."First, we save the people."I had no crown and no army. But when Morvena's thorn broke, every white hart sleeping in Silvermoon Forest heard my heart begin again.They followed me out of the trees.At the city gate, a northern knight knocked Rowan from his horse. His sword skidded across the stones. As another rid

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