@lady-adventuress ok so my gift was originally going to be a multichapter fic but it wouldn’t have been finished on time
anyway, here’s the first chapter
Yesterday’s Innovation is Tomorrow’s Tradition
The kingdom of Ever After was a paradise of progress, a haven of order, a beacon of hope and a pillar of stability. The benevolent royal family ruled with strict compassion and a firm guiding hand, a stern affection behind every action taken by the Grimms over the two centuries since they rose into power.
Destiny, the capital city as of two hundred years ago, was a marvel of technology. The pristinely white palace and the pastel mansions of nobility stretched towers and spires into the sky, a bustling market district spilled chaotically across the streets like explosions of paint, and train tracks from all over the kingdom wound their way to the city. Gardens were carefully cultivated, dirigibles hung in the sky, and halls of stained glass windows and faceted chandeliers served as meeting places during the nobility’s social season.
The slums, meanwhile, were covered in soot and choked by smoke, factories chewing up workers during the day and spitting them back out to sleep in their pitiful shacks by night. To them, coal was hacking coughs and aching lungs, steam was scalding heat and dampened air, and nuts and bolts were things to be handled with care for the gain of those richer than them, lest they be forced to cover their cost from their own wages.
Here, in Destiny, the paths and futures of different, yet oddly similar girls were about to cross, some for the first time. Unbeknownst to them, they were going to implement changes to the very shape and nature of their country. Forever.
After.
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