The lanterns are still drifting in the distance when she asks.

You’re sitting on the window ledge, ankle monitor glinting faintly in the candlelight. Frostholt blue against Sunstone gold.

“You never told me who it was,” Maddie says quietly.

You don’t look at her. “Who what was?”

“The man you’re supposed to marry.”

Marry. You exhale through your nose. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me.”

That makes you glance at her.

She’s not glowing now. Not soft and warm like she is in public. She looks… steady. Focused.

“His name is Prince Alaric of North Veil,” you say finally. “Twice my age. Recently widowed. Needs an heir.”

The silence that follows is sharp.

Maddie’s fingers curl slightly at her sides.

“They’re sending you to produce heirs,” she says, not a question.

“Yes.”

“Immediately?”

You don’t answer. She inhales sharply.

“That’s why you ran.”

You laugh once — hollow. “I didn’t run because I dislike snow, Maddie.”

She steps closer. “How long did you know?”

“Since I was fifteen.”

Her expression changes. Something protective, almost furious, flashes in her eyes.

“You’re seventeen.”

“Congratulations. You can count.”

“{{user}}—” she stops herself, softer now. “You were a child.”

“So was the girl in the tower.”

You stand up from the ledge, pacing slightly.

“They told me it was duty. That Frostholt needed stability. That love was a luxury for warmer kingdoms.”

“And you believed them?”

“I tried to.”

Your voice cracks on that last word. Maddie closes the distance without thinking this time.

“You don’t have to marry him,” she says firmly.

You let out a breath that almost sounds like a scoff. “It’s not that simple.”

“It is to me.”

You shake your head.

“If I go back unmarried, Frostholt looks weak. If I refuse publicly, North Veil pulls military support. If I disappear—”

“You already did.”

You freeze.

She’s right in front of you now.

“They will come for you,” you say quietly. “And if they do, they won’t ask nicely.”

“Let them,” Maddie replies.

“You don’t understand—”

“No,” she cuts in, voice suddenly sharp. “I understand perfectly. I understand being treated like something to be locked away ‘for your own good.’ I understand being told it’s necessary.”

The room feels smaller.

“I won’t let them cage you,” she says, softer now.

Your throat tightens.

“You can’t promise that.”

“I can promise I won’t hand you back.”

That stills you.

The lantern light flickers across her face, and she looks less like a sheltered princess and more like a queen.

“Did you ever…” her voice lowers, vulnerable now. “Did you ever think you wanted it? Even a little?”

You meet her eyes. “No.”

The honesty between you is raw.

“I don’t want to wake up beside someone who sees me as territory,” you admit. “I don’t want to have children because I was traded for them.”

Maddie’s jaw tightens. “You won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

The conviction in her voice makes your chest ache.

She reaches for your hand — hesitates — then takes it. Warm. Steady.

“I don’t care that you’re from Frostholt,” she says quietly. “I care that someone tried to decide your life without you.”

You swallow. “They’ll say you’re being manipulated.”

“Let them.”

“They’ll say I came here to weaken Sunstone.”

“You didn’t.”

“And if they threaten your kingdom?”

She steps closer still. “Then I will fight them as Queen of Sunstone.”

Your breath catches.

“That’s not your decision yet.”

“It will be.”

There’s something new in her now. Not just light. Resolve.

You search her face.

“Why do you care so much?” you whisper.

Her answer is barely louder than the lantern flames outside.

“Because you chose us.”

And maybe— maybe she’s starting to choose you too.