The mirror shimred faintly with the light spilling in from the balcony windows. Cherry’s hand rested on Amara’s shoulder as though she were a sculptor admiring her masterpiece.
"Co here," Cherry whispered, her tone smooth, dangerous, yet almost tender. "Look."
Amara’s eyes widened. Her breath caught as the reflection showed not the plain brown hair she had lived with all her life, but a cascade of deep, glimring red. The color was vibrant, alive, catching in the sunlight like fire.
"It’s... ?" she murmured, almost reaching to touch the glass instead of her own hair.
"All of you," Cherry replied, a wicked smile curling her lips. "Every strand. Even the ones hidden away where no eyes but your lover’s might find them. You are red, Amara, through and through."
Amara’s cheeks flushed, but curiosity won over embarrassnt. "Even... there?"
Cherry’s laughter rang, low and mocking. "Of course. Do you think I do things halfway? I’ll perform this spell every two weeks, and the color will hold, no matter who examines you. Your hair between your legs down their is red."
"Why not dye it?" Amara asked, still staring at her reflection in disbelief.
"Because," Cherry said, leaning closer, her perfu wrapping around the girl, "the royal family will test your hair with their own magic. They will know if it’s rely dye. But my magic, my darling...." her voice dropped into a whisper, "is stronger than theirs. They will find nothing."
Amara’s lips parted in wonder.
For a mont she almost forgot she was only a servant, standing in a room far too grand for her.
Now she looked like soone who belonged. Soone who could walk into the halls of power and not be turned away.
"Why Auburn?" she asked softly. "Why the na Auburn? Why can’t I just use my na Amara?"
Cherry’s eyes glead. "Because, little one, every royal must bear a na tied to red. Rose, Scarlett, Cherry, Crimson. You are now Auburn, a na that belongs to the bloodline. A shade of fire. A na with destiny written all over it."
Amara’s heart pounded. "Auburn..." she whispered, testing the sound on her tongue.
"And," Cherry added, her smile turning sly, "the Queen will be thrilled to hear that her beloved late daughter, Scarlett, has a daughter of her own. And knowing that your na is shade of red like the entire royal family, she would be happy. Imagine her joy, finding family where she thought there was only loss."
Amara frowned. "But what story will I tell? How will I explain myself?"
Cherry squeezed her shoulder. "It’s simple. After your mother drowned, she was taken captive. Scarlett ran away, lost, unable to return. She was raised by a wealthy family in secret, and when she died giving birth to you, you were raised by her adoptive grandparents. They told you the stories of your true blood, and when they died, you ca here, searching for your mother’s kin."
Amara blinked. The tale sounded almost too neat, too perfect. "Wouldn’t they want to et these grandparents?"
Candy, who had been lounging idly until then, leaned forward. "That’s true. The Queen’s investigators will dig into every detail."
"I’ll find people," Cherry said firmly. "Ones loyal enough to play the part. They’ll swear their lives on it. So don’t worry they won’t expose us."
Candy tilted her head, then smirked. "I can act as your nanny. The faithful servant who raised Auburn from birth. That way, when the Queen asks, there’s soone trusted to vouch for her."
Cherry’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Why so eager, Candy? Is it because you planned to betray ?"
The air in the room shifted. Amara felt her stomach tighten.
Candy’s smirk froze, faltering into confusion.
"What are you talking about?" Candy asked, her voice tight.
"I know," Cherry said simply, her words cutting sharper than any blade. "I know you thought to run to Rose. To whisper in her ear that I had returned. That I was scheming."
As if Candy noticed the shift and intense change of energy, she beca alert.
She looked around and called.
Candy shot a quick glance toward Amara, suspicion flashing in her eyes. "You..."
"Yes," Cherry said calmly. "She told ."
The silence cracked like thunder. Amara’s breath caught as Candy’s expression twisted, fury and betrayal mingling.
"You...." Candy hissed, her hands trembling as she began to shift, bones cracking beneath her skin, fur starting to sprout. "How dare you?! After everything I have done for you!"
"Don’t bother." Cherry’s voice was ice. She flicked her wrist casually. "Your guard won’t co. She is already dead."
Candy’s face drained of color. "W... wh.. what? How can..."
She didn’t get to finish.
"I’m sorry to have to do this Candy." Cherry stated in all honesty. "But you made it easier to kill you."
The shift had barely begun when Cherry raised her hand, fingers curling as though grasping invisible strings.
Power flared, shimring in the air like a heatwave. A sickening slice tore through the room.
Candy’s head rolled cleanly from her shoulders. Her body collapsed with a dull thud, blood spilling across the polished stone.
Amara gasped, hands flying to her mouth. Her legs wobbled as she stumbled back, nearly losing her footing.
Cherry didn’t flinch. She stepped forward, kicking Candy’s lifeless body aside as though it were no more than a broken doll. Her crimson gaze slid back to Amara.
"You chose wisely," Cherry said, her tone calm, almost gentle. "Had you kept her secret, you’d be lying beside her right now."
Amara’s chest heaved, her mind screaming with horror and yet, beneath it, sothing darker stirred. She looked again at the mirror, at the girl with burning red hair staring back at her. Auburn. A royal. Soone who could belong.
Her hands lowered slowly from her mouth. She swallowed hard.
"Yes, my lady," Amara whispered, her voice trembling. "I chose the right side."
Cherry smiled then, a smile full of satisfaction and danger. She reached out, tilting Amara’s chin upward, forcing her to et her eyes.
"Rember this mont," Cherry murmured. "It is the first step. Auburn is born today, and nothing, nothing, will stand in her way."
Behind them, Candy’s blood still pooled on the floor, but Cherry didn’t look back. Neither, after a long mont, did Amara.
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