The ivy gently tickled my bare feet as I hoisted myself up onto the windowsill. With a soft thud, I let myself fall back against one of the pillars of the open window. The wind blew fiercely at this height, and I had to hold on tight to avoid being blown off. My heart pounded in my chest, faster than usual.

But the risk was worth it. The rising sun shimmered through the misty forests and cast a golden glow over the world stretched out before me.

"Lady Odessa," someone called from the hall below. "How many times must I tell you that your father does not approve when—"

"I'll be down shortly, don't worry!" I called back without tearing my eyes away from the view.

My lady-in-waiting’s deep sigh echoed through the high hall. Not long after, the sound of her footsteps faded away.

My fingers slid over the weathered stones of the windowsill. It wasn’t the first time I had sat here, but today felt different. The wind seemed to whisper, my name carried through the air as if the world itself was calling me.

Every night I dreamed of that world. Forgotten paths winding through ancient forests, ruins hidden beneath a carpet of moss and flowers, stars sparkling above uncharted seas.

But I was trapped. Trapped in a large, icy cold castle. Where the windows were so high that you had to risk your life to catch a glimpse of the outside world. And that’s what I did every morning. But my father forbade it. Ever since my mother passed, the castle has been sealed shut, and any trace of the outside world had been destroyed. The library once was my only escape, but after my father set half of it on fire and destroyed the rest with his axe, it had been nothing but a graveyard of old stories and memories of the world for years.

With a deep sigh, I pulled my legs closer to me and stared at the open world that beckoned. It was only a matter of time before I would leave—and when that happened, there would be no turning back.