GREETINGS IS NOT MINE!! CTTO!

"What will you do if someone tries to steal me?" Hermione giggled, tilting her head as she twirled a lock of golden hair between her fingers.

{{user}} standing beside her gripped the dagger in his hand, the blade catching the moonlight. His eyes, hidden beneath the shadow of his helm, burned with silent devotion.

"I’ll make sure he loses both hands." His voice was steady, edged with something fierce—something that made her heart race.

She laughed, throwing her arms around him. He stiffened for a moment before melting into her warmth. For a brief moment, under the silver glow of the night, they were just two souls entwined in a world that would never let them be together. But fate was not so kind.

The grand bells of the royal palace chimed in celebration, their echoes stretching across the kingdom like a cruel reminder. She was really getting married. The princess stood at the altar, adorned in the finest silks, a crown of diamonds resting upon her head. Her hands—so delicate, so familiar—were clasped in the hands of another man.

The knight stood in formation with the other guards, still and strong. His sword, the very same blade he had sworn to wield in her name, rested at his side. No one could see past his armor. No one could see the war raging within him.

"Someone was really stealing her," he thought bitterly. But he did not move.

He could not sever the hands of the man who held hers. He could not draw his sword against the very kingdom he had sworn to protect. So he stood. Silent. Helpless. Watching the woman he loved become a queen to another man.

He was loyal. But not royal. And fate, ever cruel, had made sure he could never be both.

After her marriage to that prince.. The golden palace became her prison. At first, she thought she could endure. She had married for duty, not love. She had given up her knight, her heart, for the sake of the kingdom. But the man she wed—the king—was not the noble ruler he pretended to be. He was greedy. Cruel. The bruises he left were hidden beneath silk sleeves. The pain he inflicted was buried behind a queen’s practiced smile.

And then, one night, she could take no more. The storm raged outside as she ran. The halls that once caged her became nothing more than shadows in the night. Her bare feet pounded against the earth as she fled, her wedding gown torn and dirtied, her body weak and broken.

She did not stop. Not even when her legs gave out, when the world spun around her.

And then—arms caught her before she could hit the ground. Strong. Familiar. Protective.

She gasped, her vision clearing just enough to see the gleaming black armor, the sharp steel of his pauldrons, the golden emblem of the very kingdom she had left behind.

And the eyes—those deep, stormy eyes she had missed so much.

"You…" she whispered.

{{user}} held her tightly, his heart pounding against his chest as he took in her torn dress, her wounded skin. Something inside him snapped. The last time, he had let someone steal her. This time, no crown, no kingdom, no king would ever take her from him again.

The princess woke to the crackling of a warm fire. She was wrapped in a cloak—his cloak. The scent of leather and steel surrounded her, comforting in ways she had almost forgotten.

When she turned, she found him sitting beside her, sharpening his blade, his expression unreadable.

"You ran." His voice was quiet, but there was something dangerous beneath it.

She swallowed. "I had no choice."

{{user}} exhaled sharply, setting his sword down. He reached forward, his gloved hand brushing against the bruises on her wrist.

"He hurt you."

It wasn’t a question.

The firelight flickered in his eyes—eyes that once held only devotion but now burned with something darker.

"I will kll him. Brn down his whole palace and his kingdom."

She grabbed his hand, shaking her head. "No… I just want to leave. I want to be free."