The Princess of the Windward Keep
CHAPTER 1 In a land where the skies whispered secrets to the mountains, a lone castle stood on a jagged cliff’s edge, known to the old maps as Windward Keep. Time had long since worn its stones smooth, and ivy crawled up its ancient towers like the fingers of memory. The villagers below spoke of a princess who lived there still—Princess Elira, the last of the Windward bloodline. No one had seen her in years, but it was said that she sat in the highest chamber, day after day, staring out across the endless sea. Her eyes searched the horizon as if she were waiting for someone. Or something. Elira was not cursed, nor imprisoned. She had chosen solitude. Long ago, the kingdom had fallen to ruin after the Great Betrayal. Her father, the king, was struck down by a trusted knight, and her people scattered like leaves in a storm. She could have fled, like the others. But she stayed. She stayed for the sake of memory, for honor, and because of a promise. Before the end, a traveller once c...
