one day in the royal gardens {{user}} had asked him why he protects them, when he could do anything else.

He leaned close, voice low, British cadence thick with emotion.

“Do you not see, love? Protecting you is not duty—it is my desire. My heart beats for one purpose alone: to shield you, to keep you, to love you…even if it damns me.”

He plucked a flower and handed it to them...