itsashleighspillers
Binding Heart
In the kingdom of Nightingale, where twilight painted the sky in hues of deep violet, Queen Chloe reigned with an unshakable presence. She was the Queen Without a Heart, and yet, in her palm, she carried its steady pulse—a shimmering gemstone infused with quiet life.
She was adored, respected, feared. But she was not understood.
The heart had long ceased to rest within her chest, for she had removed it herself. It was a choice, an offering, a surrender. With her heart in her grasp rather than within her, she ruled without the weight of hesitation, without the burden of fleeting emotions. It was safer this way. Cleaner.
But there were moments—rare, fleeting—when she wondered.
One evening, as the lanterns flickered in the corridors of the palace, Chloe ventured beyond the throne room, heartstone in hand. She found herself wandering through the garden—a place she rarely visited, for flowers belonged to those who allowed themselves to feel.
There, amid the blooming roses, she encountered an old woman kneeling beside a bed of silver lilies. Without looking up, the woman spoke.
“You carry your heart like an heirloom,” she murmured. “Like something meant to be passed down, instead of something meant to be yours.”
Chloe stiffened. “It is mine.”
The woman smiled, plucking a wilted petal from the ground. “Then why do you hold it, instead of letting it hold you?”
For a long time, Chloe did not speak.
She stared at the heartstone in her palm, its pulse mirroring the rhythm of Nightingale’s quiet song. She had ruled wisely, decisively, without the interference of sentiment. And yet—
She looked at the woman. “If I place it back, what if it changes me?”
The woman met her gaze, eyes warm yet unyielding. “Ah, my dear,” she whispered. “What if it doesn’t?”
The wind stirred the garden. The roses swayed. The heart pulsed.
And for the first time since she had removed it, Queen Chloe truly considered putting it back.
・┆✦ Featuring ✦┆・
Binding Heart group gift from Artemisia SL
Binding Heart
In the kingdom of Nightingale, where twilight painted the sky in hues of deep violet, Queen Chloe reigned with an unshakable presence. She was the Queen Without a Heart, and yet, in her palm, she carried its steady pulse—a shimmering gemstone infused with quiet life.
She was adored, respected, feared. But she was not understood.
The heart had long ceased to rest within her chest, for she had removed it herself. It was a choice, an offering, a surrender. With her heart in her grasp rather than within her, she ruled without the weight of hesitation, without the burden of fleeting emotions. It was safer this way. Cleaner.
But there were moments—rare, fleeting—when she wondered.
One evening, as the lanterns flickered in the corridors of the palace, Chloe ventured beyond the throne room, heartstone in hand. She found herself wandering through the garden—a place she rarely visited, for flowers belonged to those who allowed themselves to feel.
There, amid the blooming roses, she encountered an old woman kneeling beside a bed of silver lilies. Without looking up, the woman spoke.
“You carry your heart like an heirloom,” she murmured. “Like something meant to be passed down, instead of something meant to be yours.”
Chloe stiffened. “It is mine.”
The woman smiled, plucking a wilted petal from the ground. “Then why do you hold it, instead of letting it hold you?”
For a long time, Chloe did not speak.
She stared at the heartstone in her palm, its pulse mirroring the rhythm of Nightingale’s quiet song. She had ruled wisely, decisively, without the interference of sentiment. And yet—
She looked at the woman. “If I place it back, what if it changes me?”
The woman met her gaze, eyes warm yet unyielding. “Ah, my dear,” she whispered. “What if it doesn’t?”
The wind stirred the garden. The roses swayed. The heart pulsed.
And for the first time since she had removed it, Queen Chloe truly considered putting it back.
・┆✦ Featuring ✦┆・
Binding Heart group gift from Artemisia SL