The stone halls were cold and dim, their narrow torches offering only the faintest whisper of warmth as you passed beneath them.

It must’ve been near last midnight—when the whole kingdom, not just the village, lay in deep slumber. Everyone but you.

The chill of the ancient stone bit at the soles of your feet as you moved in silence, but you paid it little mind. You clutched a quilt around your shoulders, shuffling softly through shadowed corridors toward your favorite place in the entire realm.

You slipped past one of the lazier night-guards, the one who never seemed fully awake at such late hours, and tugged on a worn pair of boots—boots your father would’ve laughed at had he seen you wearing them.

Outside, the snow greeted you with a quiet crunch beneath your steps. Soft flakes tangled themselves in your hair and clung to your lashes as you crossed the courtyard. You finally took refuge beneath one of the old stone bridges, settling yourself upon the ledge that overlooked the river encircling the town. Your breath fogged the night air as you watched a handful of younglings sneak from their homes to play upon the frozen surface, their laughter muffled by distance and frost.

All was still, save for your gentle breathing—

Until that familiar crunch of snow and the muted whine of metal disturbed the silence.

“You’ll catch a cold, Princess.”

Of course it would not take him long to find you. He had been your sworn guardian since childhood…your closest companion as you grew…your steadfast protector.

Suguru.