Ruby pov

The rain fell in sheets, blurring the edges of the world outside the window. Even now, years later, the sound of water tapping against glass always brought me back to that night—the night my world shattered and my bloodline was reduced to just me.

I was only twelve when it happened. We were on our way home from a royal gathering, my parents, my older brother Alexei, my best friend, Sophie and me. It was the kind of event where you had to dress in stuffy gowns and put on a mask of perfection, as if our family wasn’t already under constant scrutiny. But for all the pomp and circumstance, I remember being happy that night. Alexei had spent the whole evening teasing me, calling me “princess” and twirling me around the ballroom, making me laugh until my cheeks hurt. It felt like we were invincible, like nothing could ever go wrong.

Then everything changed.

The roads were slick with rain, and the driver struggled to see. I remember my father’s voice, calm and reassuring, telling the driver to slow down. Then there was a flash of blinding light, the screech of tires, and a deafening crash. The world spun, and all I could hear was the crunch of metal, the shattering of glass, and my mother’s scream.

When I woke up, everything was still. There was a ringing in my ears, and the air was thick with smoke. I could barely move, my body pinned by a twisted piece of metal. I tried to call out, but my throat was raw, and my voice came out as nothing more than a broken whisper. My eyes darted around, searching for my family, but all I saw was darkness and the flicker of dying flames.

They were gone. All of them.

My father, with his steady hands and stern smile. My mother, who always smelled of lavender and hugged me like she was trying to keep the world away. And Alexei, my annoying but wonderful brother, who promised me he'd always be there to protect me.

In that moment, something inside me broke. I couldn’t comprehend how, in just a few heartbeats, my entire family could be taken from me. How I could be left so utterly alone.

But I wasn’t.

Somehow, through the wreckage and chaos, I felt a warm hand and grabbed it. It was Sophie.

She was there, just like she always was. My best friend. The girl who’d been by my side since we were seven years old, back when life was simple, and the only thing that mattered was whether our teachers would let us play outside after lunch.

Sophie and I had met in elementary school, long before the weight of royal titles or responsibilities had truly settled on my shoulders. I remember it as clearly as if it happened yesterday. I was standing alone on the playground, watching the other children play. Most were too intimidated by my title, "Princess Ruby Rozaliya Romanova," to approach me. I was untouchable, isolated by the invisible barrier of my family's status.

But not Sophie.

I remember the day she strolled up to me, her dark curls bouncing with every step, her brown eyes full of curiosity and mischief. “Hi, I’m Sophie. You look lonely. Want to play with me?”

I blinked at her, not sure how to respond. “Do you… know who I am?”

“Yeah, you’re Ruby. You like to sit under the big oak tree during recess and read your book.” She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. She didn’t care that I was a princess. She didn’t care about my family’s wealth or status. She just saw me—Ruby, the girl who liked to read under trees.

From that moment, we were inseparable. While other kids learned to bow or curtsy, Sophie pulled me into adventures that left my clothes dirty and my cheeks flushed. She was fearless, always standing up for me when others tried to make me feel different, and I, in turn, found a courage I hadn’t known existed within me.

Years later, when we were older, Sophie was still by my side, training to be my guardian. It wasn’t something that was ever discussed; it was just understood. She was my protector, my confidante, my best friend.

And that night, when everything fell apart, she saved me. Even though she shouldn’t have been there—her mom was a dhampir and so was Sophie despite having a moroi father, she had no reason to be attending that event—she had somehow convinced her mom to let her come with me and my parents. It was just like her, to never leave me alone, even when I didn’t realize I needed her.

I never found out exactly how Sophie survived that crash. How, when the paramedics pulled us from the wreckage, they found her cradling me, bloodied but breathing, while everyone else lay still and cold. Part of me thinks it’s just another mystery in the long list of inexplicable things that seem to surround my life. Another part of me wonders if she was always meant to be my guardian, that some higher power knew I would need her more than anything in this world.

After that night, everything changed. My title, once just a distant weight I barely understood, became a shackle around my neck. I was no longer just Ruby—I was Ruby Rozaliya Romanova, the last of the Romanova bloodline. The sole survivor. The next in line to inherit a throne I was never supposed to take. That throne belonged to my brother. Not me.

There were no more carefree days at St. Vladimir’s, no more childish dreams of escaping into the woods with Sophie to find buried treasure or pretend we were knights battling imaginary monsters. The monsters were real now, lurking in the shadows, and I had to face them whether I wanted to or not.

The royal council took me in, whispered behind closed doors, and plotted my future. I became their symbol of hope, their living relic of a family that had been all but erased from existence. They expected me to be strong, to carry on my family’s legacy, to be the perfect princess. But every time I closed my eyes, all I could see were the faces of my family—their smiles frozen in time, their voices fading with every passing day.

It would have been easy to let myself drown in that darkness. To let the grief consume me and strip away whatever strength I had left. But I couldn’t. Because Sophie wouldn’t let me. She pulled me out of bed when I refused to move, forced me to eat when I felt like I would never be hungry again, and stayed with me through every nightmare, holding my hand just like she had on that night.

And slowly, I began to find my way back.

I wasn’t just the last Romanova. I wasn’t just a princess. I was Ruby—someone who had survived, who had fought, and who would keep fighting. For my family. For myself. And for Sophie, the one person who had never given up on me, even when I had.

Now, as I stand on the precipice of my destiny, with the weight of my family’s legacy pressing down on my shoulders, I know one thing for certain: I’m not alone. I never was.

And I never will be.