"𝙴𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚖𝚎, '𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚖𝚎, 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎. 𝙻𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚖𝚎" - 𝙷𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚋𝚢 𝙴𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐.

You and Arzhel had been rivals for years.

One day, you were summoned to the castle’s dining hall. When you arrived, both your father and his were already seated, waiting. They instructed you to sit, then calmly informed the two of you that a marriage had been arranged. Between you and Arzhel.

You immediately protested, making it clear you refused, but it was useless. The decision had already been made.

The night before the wedding, Arzhel entered your room late. As he moved, you noticed a deep cut along the upper right side of his back.

“What happened?” you asked, worry slipping into your voice before you could stop it.

“Go back to sleep,” he said with the kind of authority that he needed to lead a future kingdom.