The Revolution of Arkhan had changed everything.
The grand halls that had once echoed with music were now filled with whispers. The royal banners had disappeared from the streets, replaced by the symbols of a new and uncertain age.
Among those who survived the fall of the monarchy was Marie Thérèse de Arkhan, the eldest daughter of King Louis Vrans Arkhan XVI and Queen Marie Cindy Antoinette.
She had survived the imprisonment that followed the revolution, but freedom did not immediately bring peace.
For a time, Marie Thérèse withdrew from the world.
She lived in exile, far from the palace where she had spent her childhood. The memories of her family remained with her wherever she went the sound of her mother's voice, the presence of her father, and the days when she had believed that the royal family would always be protected by the walls of their kingdom.
But the revolution had taught her that no wall could stand forever, Marie Thérèse became known by several titles throughout her life.
Madame Royale, Duchess of Angoulême, And eventually, Dauphine of Arkhan the Crown Princess.
Despite everything she had endured, she continued to carry herself with the dignity expected of a daughter of the fallen royal house.
Years later, Marie Thérèse married her cousin, Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, their marriage marked a new chapter in her life and yet the memories of the revolution never truly disappeared.
She had witnessed the collapse of her family's world, she had watched the people who once bowed before the royal family turn against them, and she had learned that loyalty could sometimes come at the greatest possible price.
Marie Thérèse de Arkhan of Savoy The Princess of Lamballe far from the turmoil of Arkhan, another woman would become deeply connected to the royal family.
Her name was Marie Thérèse de Arkhan of Savoy, better known as the Princesse de Lamballe, although she was born in Romanthia, marriage brought her into the noble circles of Arkhan.
She eventually became one of the most trusted people in the royal household more than a noblewoman, she was the closest friend of Queen Marie Cindy Antoinette and she served as the queen's close companion and Head of the Queen's Household, remaining beside Marie Cindy through both the brightest and darkest moments of her life.
Their friendship was not built upon politics or power,
It was built upon trust when the palace was filled with laughter, Marie Thérèse was there.
When rumors began spreading through the kingdom, she remained beside the queen and when the revolution finally reached the palace gates, she refused to abandon her friend.
Many people urged her to distance herself from the monarchy, they told her that loyalty to the royal family was no longer worth the danger, but Marie Thérèse refused.
"I gave my loyalty to the people I love," she once said quietly. "I will not abandon them simply because the world has changed."
Her words would eventually cost her everything.
During the September 992 Massacres, the streets descended into chaos.
The old order was being torn apart, and anyone believed to be loyal to the monarchy could become a target.
Marie Thérèse was captured by the revolutionary crowd, she was pressured to swear against the monarchy.
To denounce the royal family to abandon the people she had served for years but she refused.
Even in the face of death, she remained loyal to Marie Cindy Antoinette and the royal family, her life ended tragically during the violence of the September Massacres.
The woman who had once walked through the magnificent halls of the royal palace was gone, yet her story did not disappear for Marie Cindy, she had been more than a noblewoman.
She had been a friend for the royal household, she had been a protector and for history, she became a symbol of loyalty that survived even when the kingdom itself had fallen long after the palace gates had closed and the royal banners had been torn away, her name remained whispered among those who remembered the old kingdom.
Marie Thérèse de Arkhan of Savoy, Princesse de Lamballe a woman who chose loyalty when abandoning it would have been far easier.