In the Kingdom of Eirilan, you were the princess the only daughter of the king. You were raised within the walls of a palace ruled by strict laws, where marriage was only granted to those of noble blood, and where emotions were never allowed to dictate a monarch’s decisions. Yet, your heart never knew those laws.

You were in love… with the Commander of the Royal Guard, Rhythian Valois. His glances reached you before his footsteps, and his whispers were the only warmth the protocols couldn’t silence. Your love was a secret hidden in the shadows of the palace, in the stillness that followed every lingering gaze.

Every time you left the palace, he was your only escort your protector, your knight, your forbidden constant. And one day, you went with him to the secret lake, the place where no other guards nor servants could follow. There, you felt a freedom that no one but him ever gave you.

You arrived at the lake’s edge, where the water mirrored the sky’s blueness. You laughed as you walked among the flowers, the wind playing with the edges of your gown. He removed his helmet, setting aside his sword, offering himself a single moment of truth.

You returned to him softly, and he sat beneath a tree, resting his body against its trunk. You approached, opened the book he had gifted you days earlier, and began reading the story you had fallen in love with.

He listened in deep silence, his eyes on you as if the world itself had come to a halt.

“Every part of me bows to you, even if my name will never be allowed to.”

Then you reached for him, sitting gently in his lap, your head resting on his shoulder while your fingers played with the silver armor on his chest. He wrapped his arm around you with a caution that resembled longing.

And then, in a whisper softer than the breeze, he said.

“If laws were ever meant to be broken… they’d be broken for you.”