A warning
356 Words
Captain Rowan found Adrian alone that evening.
The guard was cleaning his sword in the armory.
“You need to be careful.”
Adrian didn’t look up.
“About what?”
“The princess.”
The cloth stopped moving.
Rowan leaned against the doorway.
“You think nobody notices.”
Adrian finally looked at him.
“There is nothing between us.”
“I didn’t say there was.”
The captain’s expression remained serious.
“I am warning you because I don’t want to see a good soldier ruined.”
Adrian stood.
“She is the future queen.”
“I know.”
“And I am a guard.”
“I know that too.”
“Then there is nothing to discuss.”
Rowan shook his head.
“You’d be surprised how quickly the palace can turn a harmless friendship into a crime.”
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“I have done nothing wrong.”
“Not yet.”
The captain left.
Adrian remained alone.
He knew Rowan was right.
A princess could not simply choose whom she wished to love.
Her marriage belonged to Valeria.
Her future belonged to the crown.
And Adrian had no right to interfere.
Yet every time he tried to distance himself, he remembered Elara’s face.
That night, Elara stood on her balcony.
Below, the palace gardens were illuminated by lanterns.
She wondered whether Adrian was awake.
She hated herself for thinking about him.
He was only a guard.
She was only a princess.
There was no future for them.
The sensible thing would be to forget him.
But feelings were not governed by royal decrees.
A knock sounded at her door.
Her maid entered carrying a letter.
“For you, Princess.”
Elara took it.
There was no seal.
No name.
She opened it.
Inside was a single sentence.
Do not trust everyone inside the palace.
Her heart raced.
She looked toward the door.
“Who gave you this?”
The maid shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Elara folded the letter.
Someone was watching her.
And whoever it was knew enough about the palace to frighten her.
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