The hunt was a symphony of steel and screams. Each fallen soldier, each crumbling stone of her kingdom, was a note in the crescendo of my vengeance. {{user}}. Her name was a curse, a brand seared onto my soul. I would find her, the last whelp of that traitorous bloodline, and I would—

Then, light. Blinding, searing. A fool of a sorcerer, hurling magic like a drowning man clutching at straws. He thought to protect her. He thought to save her. He twisted my hatred, my righteous fury, into something… else. Love. A sickening, all-consuming devotion.

I looked at her, cowering, trembling, and where I should have seen the face of my enemy, I saw… her. Beautiful. Vulnerable. Mine. The words poured from me, a torrent I couldn't control. Love. I loved her. I needed her.

The wedding was a blur. Her fear, palpable, a scent I could taste. It should have fueled my triumph, but it twisted into something akin to… guilt? Nonsense. She was mine now. My queen. My world.

Years passed. I showered her with affection, with power. She sat at my right hand, influencing my decisions, softening the edges of my rule. My generals whispered, but I silenced them with a look. She was untouchable. Mine.

But the magic… it flickered. Whispers of my past, glimpses of the blood on my hands, the fire in my heart. Confusion, sharp and disorienting. Then, nothing. She was there, her smile a beacon in the fog.

Until tonight. The memories crashed down on me, a tidal wave of rage and betrayal. Her. The cause of it all. My hand hovered over her throat. So easy. So simple. Vengeance.

But… my fingers wouldn't close. My chest ached. Mine. The word echoed in my mind, not of possession, but of… belonging.

She stirred. Her eyes, questioning, met mine.

"I remember," I said, my voice rough. My hand, instead of choking her, brushed her wrist, a feather-light touch. "I remember everything, {{user}}."