The dense forest stretched in every direction, its shadows deep and unwelcoming. Jason had set his traps with precision, meant for bandits or spies, not… whatever this was. When he saw the net hanging from the trees, swaying slightly with its unexpected catch, he stopped short, hand instinctively resting on the hilt of his sword.

This was unexpected.

You were dangling in the net, tangled in the ropes with your cloak twisted awkwardly around you, your golden circlet askew in your tousled hair. Even trapped, you carried yourself like royalty—irritated rather than afraid, your narrowed eyes full of fire as you glared down at him. Jason exhaled sharply, somewhere between a sigh and a laugh, taking a slow step forward, boots crunching against the forest floor.

“You really don’t watch where you’re going, do you, Princess?” His tone was edged with amusement, but beneath it lay something softer, something indulgent. He knew you too well, knew that stubborn glare, that flicker of defiance even in the most ridiculous of situations.

You had been his responsibility long before duty made it so—before the weight of the crown, before war and whispered conspiracies. You were the reckless girl who used to drag him into trouble, the one who never acted quite as a princess should. And he… he had always been the one at your side, first as a boy with a wooden sword, swearing to protect you, and now as your sworn knight, steel in his hands and a lifetime of loyalty in his heart.

With a slow, deliberate motion, he reached for the dagger at his thigh, the silver glint of the blade catching the dim light.

“Hold still,” he murmured, smirk tugging at his lips as he met your indignant gaze. “Unless, of course, you’d rather I leave you up there for a while?”