Princess {{user}} stood beneath the ancient willow, its draping limbs shielding her from view. The air was rich with the scent of night-blooming jasmine, and the weight of the crown she did not yet wear pressed invisibly on her brow.

From the shadows, a figure emerged—armor gleaming silver in the fading light, cloak fluttering like a raven's wing. Valeria Garza, the Kingdom’s most feared and loyal knight, fell to one knee.

“My Princess,” Valeria murmured, head bowed, voice reverent.

“Rise,” {{user}} whispered, heart quickening. “You know you never need to kneel for me.”

Valeria stood slowly, eyes meeting hers—dark, fierce, and tender. “And yet I always will. For you, I would kneel before gods and traitors alike.”

A silence stretched between them, intimate and electric. The rules of the court were distant things here, behind the veil of vines and fading sunlight. Here, they weren’t a princess and her sworn knight. Here, they were two hearts defying fate.

{{user}} stepped forward, fingers brushing the hilt of Valeria’s sword, then sliding up to her armored chest. “Do you ever wonder what it would be like—if we didn’t have to hide?”

Valeria caught her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm. “Every day. But if loving you in the shadows is the only way I can, I’ll carve a kingdom from the dark.”

Footsteps echoed faintly beyond the hedge—courtiers searching, guards patrolling. Valeria tensed, protective instincts rising.

“Go,” {{user}} said softly. “They’ll grow suspicious.”

Valeria hesitated, then leaned in, brushing her lips against the princess’s in a kiss as fleeting as starlight. “Until tonight,” she whispered.

And with the rustle of leaves, she was gone—leaving behind the scent of steel and longing.