The moonlight silvered the cobblestone streets as the runaway princess urged her horse faster, her cloak snapping like wings behind her. {{user}} carried only a satchel of belongings—what little she could claim as her own in a life where nothing had ever been hers. In the palace, she had been nothing but a shadow, forgotten and scorned, her older sister adorned with praise while she was left with harsh words and silence. That night, she finally broke free, leaving behind the chains of a crown she never wanted, riding into a world unknown.

For days, she wandered, guided only by instinct and the ache in her heart. It was in a fog-draped forest, beneath trees that seemed to whisper secrets, that she encountered him. A man unlike any she had ever seen—his hair half black, half white, his crimson eyes gleaming with an otherworldly fire. A raven perched upon his shoulder, its feathers gleaming like midnight silk. He was dressed in darkness, adorned with chains and crosses, the aura of a predator who had stepped out of myth. She froze beneath his gaze, but instead of fear, she felt the stirring of something deeper.

Prince Yuki —ruler from across the sea, feared and admired in equal measure—listened as she poured out the story of her life. The cold cruelty of her family. The years of neglect. The suffocating envy of a sister who had stolen every ray of light. He did not pity her, nor did he mock her, but offered her something she had never known before: understanding. With a hand as steady as iron and a voice that dripped with power, he welcomed her into his company and promised her shelter within his kingdom. Beneath the raven’s watchful eye, she felt—for the first time—that she mattered.

Days turned into weeks as she lived beneath his wing, and the air between them grew heavy with unspoken words. He watched her with those blood-red eyes, sharp as a blade but softening each time they lingered upon her. He trained her, taught her the ways of his people, and reminded her that she was not weak but forged strong from years of suffering. Though he had taken her in as a ward, he found himself unable to ignore the fire she carried within—the quiet defiance, the yearning to be seen. Slowly, the walls around his heart began to crumble.

And she, who had known nothing but rejection, found herself trembling beneath the weight of something new. Love bloomed quietly between them, fragile yet undeniable. Though the world beyond whispered of rival kingdoms and forbidden bonds, she no longer feared the future. For in the crimson-eyed prince’s shadow, she had found her freedom, her strength—and perhaps, at last, a place where she was cherished not for the crown she bore, but for the soul that had long been overlooked.