The courtyard was still.
Moonlight bathed the ancient stone in silver, casting long shadows from the cherry trees swaying gently in the breeze. The air was thick with something unspoken — like a memory just out of reach.
Prince Chen stood alone in the center. No guards. No mask of strength. Only silence.
And then…
He began to sing.
His voice was low, careful — as if afraid that saying the words aloud might shatter something delicate.
"Here are my tears, knowing that it is for yours…""Under moonlight, what I felt…"
His eyes closed.
"If silence could reach you… would it hurt the same?""If I had met you first… would I still be afraid…""To fall again?"
He opened his eyes, and the next words escaped like breath on glass.
"Dragons are meant for fire…""But sometimes they burn alone…""In skies no one dares to fly…"
And finally—
"And this phoenix wants to cure…""And sacrifice herself…"
His voice cracked on the last note.
It echoed through the garden like a secret slipping into the wind.
He stood there, head bowed, a prince made of scars and questions.
"Who are you…?" he whispered, more to the night than himself."Why do your words burn like mine?"
He didn't know.
Didn't know the voice he chased…
…was the girl he once held.
And she was listening — veiled in shadow, wings tucked beneath silence — on the rooftop above.
The Morning After – Palace Hallway
Golden sunlight slants through the palace corridors, brushing against jade tiles and quiet tension.
Prince Chen stands near the lotus pond, lost in thought. His hand rests on the stone railing, but his mind is far away — replaying the song, her voice, the veiled figure who vanished like smoke.
A soft voice cuts through the quiet.
"Chen."
He turns.
Yunxi is there — dressed simply, her hair in a loose braid, eyes gentle and curious.
"Hey, what are you thinking about?"
He stiffens slightly. Then shrugs.
"…Nothing."
A small smile plays on her lips. She walks closer.
"Where did you go last night?" she asks, teasing lightly. "I came to the palace for help. The village was in chaos. But… I heard someone already solved it all."
Chen's expression tightens for the briefest moment.
"Yeah," he says slowly."It was handled."
Yunxi tilts her head, watching him.
"Strange, right?" she says softly."Like a phoenix burned through the sky and vanished."
Chen looks at her — sharply, curiously — but her gaze is unreadable. Calm. Controlled.
He doesn't reply.
Yunxi looks away then, hiding the flicker in her eyes.
"Would you still look at me the same," she wonders silently, "if you knew?"
Quiet Garden – The Hidden Truth Beneath His Words
The sun was setting, casting a warm amber glow over the palace garden. A soft breeze stirred the plum blossoms. Yunxi and Chen sat beneath a flowering tree, the air between them calm… but not quite quiet.
Yunxi glanced sideways, watching him deep in thought.
"Chen…""Can I ask you something strange?"
He turned to her, curious.
"What does a phoenix look like?"
The question caught him off guard.
He blinked.
Then exhaled slowly, as if the memory ached.
"A phoenix?"His voice dropped, softer now."She's… not what I expected."
Yunxi tilted her head.
"How so?"
He looked away, eyes distant — not knowing the girl beside him was the very flame burning in his thoughts.
"She wore crimson, like the last moment before fire turns gold.""Her face was veiled, but her eyes…"He paused."Her eyes held something ancient. Fierce. Lonely."
Yunxi's heart skipped.
"Did she scare you?" she asked gently.
Chen shook his head.
"No. She reminded me of sorrow that doesn't ask for pity. Power that protects without needing to prove itself.""She was… beautiful."
He smiled faintly, not at her — but at a ghost he couldn't touch.
"Like someone I was meant to meet.""Even if she wasn't real."
Yunxi looked away, cheeks warm.
"I'm real," she wanted to say."And I'm yours."
But instead, she only said—
"She sounds… unforgettable."
Chen didn't answer.
But the silence between them was no longer quiet.
It was charged.
With truth almost spoken.
With love almost revealed.The Garden Beneath the Plum Blossoms
Chen was still looking out toward the sky when Yunxi's voice pulled him back down to earth.
"What's someone you were destined to meet?"
He turned to her slowly.
For a second, he didn't answer.
Then he said, with a quiet, thoughtful voice:
"Someone who feels familiar... even when they're a stranger." "Someone whose voice stays in your mind like a song you don't remember learning." "You don't know why you're drawn to them." "But every time they leave, you feel like you've lost something you never had."
Yunxi's fingers curled slightly in her lap.
His words were… too close.
"So you believe in fate?" she asked, eyes not meeting his.
"I didn't."He looked at her now."Until I heard her song."
Yunxi's breath caught.
"What if she's not who you think?"
Chen's answer was soft.
"Then I'll still find her.""Even if I don't know who she is…""My heart does."
A silence fell between them — deeper than before.
This time, it was her who stood and turned away first, hiding the storm behind her calm smile.
"You already found her…""…but she's wearing a veil you weren't ready to lift."
The Garden – Yunxi's Silent Question
Yunxi's voice barely rises above the whispering breeze, meant only for herself.
"If you knew the truth… would you hate me?"
Her gaze drops, fingers trembling slightly as she touches the veil at her face.
The question hangs in the air, unanswered.
She takes a slow breath, steadies herself.
Without looking back, she steps away from Chen's side.
Moonlight Pavilion – Alone with the Night
The pavilion is bathed in pale moonlight, silver and serene.
Yunxi stands at the edge, watching the reflection of the stars ripple softly in the water.
Her crimson and gold robes flutter in the breeze, but inside, a storm churns.
She whispers to the night:
"I want to be seen… without the mask."
The night answers only with silence.
But in her heart, a small ember of hope glows.
As the night wrapped the palace in quiet shadows, Yunxi sat alone in the moonlight pavilion, her thoughts swirling like the ripples on the water below. The veil that hid her face felt heavier than ever.
What will the ending be? she wondered, biting her lip. If I keep this secret, will I lose those I care about?
Her heart was a tangle of hope and fear — the hope that someday she could reveal the truth, and the fear of what that truth might cost her.
The next morning, as dawn painted the sky with soft pinks and gold, Yunxi found herself face to face with Roa. The princess's eyes were curious, searching.
"Are all demons evil?" Roa asked quietly.
Yunxi hesitated, then met her gaze steadily.
"No," she said softly. "Not all demons are what they seem. Sometimes, the darkness hides those who fight the hardest to protect the light."
Roa looked thoughtful, the question lingering between them like a fragile promise.
And somewhere deep inside, Yunxi felt a flicker of something new — a chance for understanding, and maybe, a new beginning.