Many years later~

"Mother, don't leave me!" The 15-year-old cried as she grasped her mother's upper arm tightly, kneeling by the bedside as the mddle-aged woman took shallow breaths painfully. "Be calm, my child. For I have something to tell you. It has been passed on to daughters by our mothers before, on their deathbeds." She whispered as she patted her daughter's blond hair gently.

"I have done a terrible thing, my daughter. In my lifetime, I have yet to find a way to reverse it but I have found out one thing. Her soul is depleted and only her essence remains. And on the day that her essence fades, a palace of glass shall appear. To destroy her, pierce her soul with the heart of the oldest. Remember, the Palace is safest. Safekeep this heirloom, and you will know when the time is right, Victoria, daughter of Victoria." With that, Tory's mother placed a necklace that held a clear glass marble on Tory's palms and closed her eyes to eternal sleep. Tory wept, distraught at the loss of her mother.

Tory knew of the legend. Her first great-great many times over great- grandmother was a powerful witch, named Victoria. 500 years ago, she had done something irreversible. Since then, for some reason, all daughters were named Victoria. Tory was 'Victoria the 17th'. The clear glass marble on a silver chain was the family heirloom, passed down to daughters only, along with the message from Victoria the 1st. Sniffling back the last of her tears, she slipped on the necklace around and rose to stand. 

---

Tory stooped to place a single white rose on her mother's grave in the middle of the forest, wiping tears from her eyes. If anything, Victorias in her family were strong, courageous, hardy women who never cried. Her head bowed, she whispered a last goodbye before turning and walking away from the grave. As she turned, lifting her head to the skies, she saw something sparkling in the horizon, where a large dense forest stood. 

Not believing her eyes, she rubbed them with the back of her hand, wondering if it was a trick of light. Yet when she opened them again, she saw a magnificent Glass Palace standing in the distance. She in a breath. "...A Palace of Glass shall appear..." She whispered to the wind that blew through the forest leaves and her hair. 

Gritting her teeth, she smiled determinedly, her blue eyes flashing with the propect of adventure as she took of running towards the mysterious palace in the distance.