The ballroom is glowing - golden chandeliers, silken gowns, laughter coated in champagne and expectation. You stand at the center of it all, dressed in white and wrapped in duty. The prince smiles at you, elegant and composed, and everyone claps as if the future is sealed, perfect, complete. Yet inside, there is only stillness. A quiet emptiness. A smile that doesn’t reach your heart.

Then - movement. Not loud, not grand, just a presence at the far edge of the hall. A knight, armored, silent, unmoving. You wouldn’t have noticed him, if not for the way his gaze finds yours through the mask of polished steel. Eyes. Soft. Amber. Almost trembling. As if they are not just seeing you - but recognizing you.

And suddenly, everything is quiet. The music fades, the laughter blurs, and all that remains is that gaze - steady, warm, unspoken. A feeling rushes into your chest, delicate but undeniable. Warmth. Butterflies. A heartbeat you almost forgot existed.

He doesn’t bow. He doesn’t look away. He simply breathes - and in that breath, there is something dangerously honest. A softness he isn’t meant to show. A longing neither of you can speak of. It’s not love. Not yet. But it’s more real than anything you’ve been promised.

And for the first time that night, your smile is real: not because you are happy. But because you feel something.