by Periwinkle25
The First Bloom It began on a stormy night. Thunder rolled over Mumbai as Vaishali typed the final line of a chapter introducing Prince Nikolai of Aurelia — a ruler who walked alone in tulip fields at dusk, carrying the weight of a crown he never wanted. The lights flickered. Her laptop screen glitched, the tulip illustration on her wallpaper glowing strangely bright. A sharp scent filled the room — fresh earth and blooming flowers. Before Vaishali could stand, the floor beneath her seemed to dissolve into petals. And she fell. She landed on soft grass. The air was crisp, cool — nothing like humid Mumbai. When she opened her eyes, endless rows of red, yellow, and violet tulips stretched toward the horizon. Windmills turned lazily in the distance. This wasn’t imagination. This was real. “You are standing in restricted royal land.” The voice was calm, deep. Vaishali turned. A tall man in regal navy attire stood before her. Golden insignia adorned his chest. His hair was the shade of midnight, his eyes a piercing gray. Prince Nikolai. The exact face she had described. Her breath caught. “This… this isn’t possible.” He stepped closer, studying her modern clothes with suspicion and curiosity. “You are not from Aurelia.” “I’m from India,” she whispered. The wind picked up, lifting her hair. Somewhere inside her, fear battled wonder. Nikolai’s expression softened slightly. “India… I have heard traders speak of it.” She laughed nervously. “You’re real.” “And you,” he replied quietly, “fell from the sky.”
