That night, the palace slept under a veil of fog and moonlight. But Seraphina did not. She slipped through the corridors like a whisper, her bare feet silent against marble floors. Her gown brushed softly as she reached the hidden door behind the tapestry — the one that led to the Moonlight Garden.
She descended the narrow spiral staircase, heart pounding, until the air turned cool and fragrant.
The garden unfolded before her — silver roses glowing under the moon, the fountain whispering secrets only night could hear.
This was their place. Theirs alone. The air was cool, and the roses shimmered silver beneath the moon. Seraphina pulled her cloak tighter, her breath misting in the cold air as she waited. Then he appeared — Finn, climbing over the ivy-covered wall like a thief with perfect timing.
"Your garden smells like stubborn roses and royal regret," he said, breathless.
"Oh, Finn… you're here. I missed you so much," Seraphina whispered.
She laughed softly and ran into his arms. They kissed like the world was ending. Maybe it was — desperate but real. The kind of kiss that stole time and reason.
Later, they sat by the riverbank, the moon painting silver across the water. Seraphina turned toward him, curiosity soft in her voice. "You talk like you've seen too much of the crown."
Finn's jaw tightened. He skipped a stone, watching it vanish beneath the ripples. "I have."
"What happened?" she asked gently.
He hesitated, then smiled — the kind of smile that hides a wound. "It's complicated."
She waited, but he didn't continue. The fire beside them cracked. The night stretched. There were a thousand things he wanted to say — about the battlefield, his father, the lies but his throat locked around the words.
So instead, he said softly, "Let's just say the crown and I… we have unfinished business."
Seraphina looked at him, really looked and felt something twist inside her. He wasn't just a boy from the valley. He was a storm pretending to be calm. And she was already standing in the rain.
Back at the garden, silence stretched between them — fragile, heavy. For a moment, the world disappeared. There was no crown, no duty, no danger. Just them — a princess and a boy who had nothing left to lose. When they pulled apart, their foreheads touched, breaths mingling.
"I'm scared," she whispered against his chest. "They gave me an ultimatum."
"What kind?"
"Marry Kaelen… or let the kingdom fall."
Finn froze. The words hit like a blade he'd seen before, the kind wielded by the powerful to cut down the innocent. She looked up at him, tears glinting in the moonlight. "I don't know what to do."
"Let me steal you away."
"What?"
"Run away with me. Tonight. Leave it all behind. We'll find a village where no one knows your name. We'll live off bread, books, and goat milk."
She laughed softly through her tears. "And horribly stitched curtains?"
"Exactly."
Her laughter faded. "I want that more than anything. But I can't let people suffer because I fell in love. That is not who I am."
Finn cupped her face.
"Then we fight. We won't run. We'll be clever. And we'll win."
"How?" she whispered.
He grinned. "Easy. We cause so much chaos, your parents won't know who to crown or who to scold."
She smiled, even as tears burned her eyes. "You're impossible."
"And you love it."
They kissed again, under the silver moon and the scent of roses both knowing it might be the last time.
<<<<<<
Elsewhere in the Valley. Finn sat alone by the dying embers of his bakery fire, hands still dusted with flour, heart heavy with what he couldn't say. He wanted to protect her, the girl born of everything he despised. The daughter of the crown that had stolen his father, his home, his name.
His father had served loyally, died branded a traitor for a noble's mistake. His mother had starved in silence. And now, fate had sent him the one person he should hate most and he loved her instead. He clenched his fists. He'd seen the way power worked. He knew what came next. The crown would crush anyone who defied it.
And this time, it was coming for him. He looked out at the fog curling through the valley, whispering her name. Seraphina. Love had already begun to burn through the cracks — and soon, it would set the whole kingdom on fire.
<<<<<<
Elsewhere in the Palace. Prince Kaelen sat alone in his chamber, staring at the moonlight spilling across the floor. He wasn't a fool. He didn't love Seraphina. But he wanted the crown. He wanted power. He wanted to be enough. But she was his duty. His crown. His chance to be more than just a shadow of a man.
Yet some buried, broken part of him wondered; What would it feel like to be loved the way she looked at him? The baker.
For the first time in years, the cold prince felt something strange. Not anger. Not ambition. Fear. Because even monsters, when they glimpse light, are afraid of losing it. Kaelen closed his eyes. And for the first time in years, he didn't feel cold. He felt afraid.