Side story:The First Kiss
424 Words
Two years before the fall of Elyria
The palace was suffocating.
Kael slipped past the velvet curtains of the ballroom, leaving behind the music, the toasts, the forced smiles of nobles who never saw him — only the crown.
He needed air.
The moon guided him through the gardens and into the woods that fringed the edge of the royal grounds. He walked deeper, past the trees silvered by starlight, until he heard it —
A melody. Light, haunting, free.
He followed it.
And there she was.
Liora stood barefoot in a clearing, spinning slowly, arms raised to the sky. Her dress shimmered like water. Her voice carried something ancient and wild. She didn’t notice him right away.
Kael leaned against a tree, silent.
“Enjoying the show, Your Highness?” she said suddenly, without turning.
He flushed. “How did you—?”
“You always walk like a soldier trying not to sound like a soldier.” She turned and smiled, mischief in her eyes. “Didn’t think I’d see you tonight.”
“I needed to escape.”
Liora tilted her head. “From the party? Or the crown?”
Kael said nothing.
She walked over, leaves crunching softly beneath her feet.
“You ever wonder what life would be like if we weren’t… who we are?”
“All the time.”
“Me too.”
She reached for his hand and tugged him gently forward. “Then stop thinking. Just… dance.”
“I don’t know how.”
Liora laughed. “Then you’re about to learn.”
And just like that, they danced — clumsily at first, then slowly in rhythm. The stars above seemed to spin with them. No titles. No duties. Just two souls daring to feel.
When they stopped, breathless, the moment hung between them.
She turned to leave, but Kael caught her wrist.
“Liora…”
She looked back, and the world narrowed to the space between their hearts.
He leaned in.
And kissed her.
It was soft. Careful. The kind of kiss that asked, Is this okay? And she answered by pulling him closer.
They stayed like that for a moment too long.
When they finally pulled apart, Liora whispered, “You’re going to forget this one day.”
Kael frowned. “Why would I?”
She smiled — not sad, not afraid. Just knowing.
“Because fate has cruel plans for us, Kael.”
But he held her close and replied, “Then I’ll fight fate.”
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End of Side Story
- Writer
