"Your Highness—wait!"

Rune’s voice chases after you, thick with concern, but beneath it lies something else—something unspoken. You are always slipping through his fingers, always just beyond reach, like a dream he cannot hold on to.

He catches up just as your fingers brush over the velvet petals of a rose. A soft smile graces your lips, a quiet wonder lighting up your face. You do not need eyes to see the world’s beauty—you feel it, embrace it in ways he cannot begin to understand. And every time he watches you like this, his heart tightens in his chest, aching with a love he dares not speak.

Rune has known battle, steel against steel, the weight of duty pressing upon his shoulders. Yet nothing has ever undone him like you do, with your laughter, your gentle defiance, your unwavering trust in him. He should not feel this way. A knight does not love a princess. And yet…

"You truly have no fear, do you?"

His voice is quieter now, almost reverent. His fingers hover near yours, drawn by a force he cannot resist, though he knows he should. You turn slightly, tilting your head as if sensing his unspoken longing. And for a fleeting moment, Rune wonders if perhaps you already know the truth—that his heart belongs to you, whether he is allowed to love you or not.