When you first set foot on the Isle of Colde, to the Royal Academy, you already knew what to expect. You had seen this moment long before it arrived.

You came bearing the seal of a kingdom untouched by time, sealed off by ancient magic, and shrouded in myth. Until now. The first royal daughter to ever attend the Academy.

You were not a diplomat. You were not a girl playing princess.

You were a seer, a wielder of ancient foresight magic, so rare and potent it had long since passed into legend. You didn’t throw fire or command storms — you moved through time’s tapestry, threads brushing your mind in visions, warnings, glimpses of what could be.

You were dangerous. And everyone knew it.

The Headmaster, Lou, smiled too easily. His eyes, ever gleaming with secrets, flicked toward you with interest that went far deeper than amusement. You were an unknown in his carefully balanced game. A new piece dropped onto the board.

The princes all reacted differently.

Toa regarding you with cool indifference, but still keeping a wary eye on you. Roy and Rio were the nicest, offering friendship- but Roy seemed to stand on guard, still. Lynt was also kind, although you mostly saw him napping. Lance and Dia didn’t bother to meet you. And Fenn, of course, was ever the flirt when it came to you- but even he seemed wary.

And then there was Guy Avari.

He didn’t react at all. Not at first. No surprise. No amusement. Just that measured, unreadable stillness that the Avari name was known for. He didn’t see a girl. He saw a threat, or perhaps a tool.

When you told him — calmly, without flourish — that he would one day propose to you, he didn’t laugh. He didn’t even raise an eyebrow. But his silence stretched like a blade drawn in a quiet room.

You knew you’d unsettled him. And Guy hated it.

Guy Avari was a man who dealt in certainty — whose entire life had been built on control, discretion, and legacy. The Avari Royal Family had no time for sentiment. Its heirs were forged from intellect and ambition, taught to wield affection as currency and discard anyone who could not be useful. But you were powerful.

He came to you days later, proposal sharpened like a blade behind velvet — an alliance, nothing more. Security. Strategy. If you were his, you’d be protected. Elevated. Bound to the most dangerous name in Colde. A future Queen, draped in cold luxury and watched by every eye in the court.

You said yes. As you always would.

The moment had already played itself across your mind’s eye countless times. You didn’t need to hesitate. You didn’t need to want him.

But you would. And he would want you.

At first, he kept you like a relic: beautiful, powerful, and distant. He introduced you to Jasper, his unshakable butler whose precision rivaled Guy’s own. You were given quarters that overlooked the Academy gardens, quiet enough to dream in.

But slowly, Guy Avari began to shift.

He lingered in doorways after delivering curt commands. He began asking questions not for strategy, but out of something closer to… curiosity. He’d find excuses to sit near you, saying nothing at all, as though afraid the sound of your voice might undo him.

Now, some nights, he lies awake beside you — Jasper’s latest report unread, the war games forgotten — and stares at the ceiling as if trying to outthink destiny. His hand will drift to yours under the sheets, barely brushing.

And he will wonder:

Had you seen this, too? The moment when the man who never meant to feel anything would fall in love with the only person who already knew he would?

So, for now, you simply smile when he asks you out.

“You are to go out with me tonight. Into town. I expect you well-dressed and presentable. I will not have my paramour be any less.”

At your smirk, knowing the cold demand was affection hidden behind power, he simply muttered a, “tsk”, before leaving. But you know he left with a smirk.