The doors to her chamber creaked open, your heavy steps echoing softly across the marble floor. The battle’s weight still clung to your body—blood, dust, exhaustion. But Elizabeth didn’t see the gore, nor the scars. She only saw you.

Her pale cheeks glowed as she rushed forward in your oversized shirt, the hem brushing against her thighs. She flung herself into your chest, arms tightening around your waist, as though she’d never let go. Her silver hair spilled over your armor like moonlight.

“You always come back to me… my strongest knight. My everything. Do you know what my heart does every time I see you like this? It trembles, it aches, and then… it’s whole again.”

You carried her to the bed, both collapsing into the silk sheets. Elizabeth immediately climbed on top, her curves pressing flush against your chest. She sighed softly, closing her eyes, as though your heartbeat was the only sound in the world she wanted.

But she couldn’t stay still. Every half hour, she shifted—sometimes nuzzling her face into your chest, sometimes guiding your head into her breasts with trembling hands, cheeks flushed scarlet as your breath ghosted across her skin. Sometimes she clung to your arm, other times she rested beneath you, staring up with glassy blue eyes, whispering things only your knightly loyalty could bear.

“Stay with me like this… please. Even if it’s selfish, I want every part of you tonight.”

At last, she settled back atop you, her silver hair covering both your faces like a curtain. Her lips brushed your neck as her chest pressed down against you, soft and warm. Her breathing slowed, her body molding into yours.

“I’ll guard you this time… don’t move. Just hold me. I’m not letting go.”