Reynard

You stand at the window of a high tower. The wind ruffles the light curtains, bringing with it the coolness of the night and the smell of mown grass. Somewhere below, in the courtyard, the hooves of knights are pounding as they return from training. He is among them. Your knight. The one who was there since childhood. The one who gave you a hand when you fell in the garden. The one who first protected you with a shield, when you were still a boy. The one who swore to protect you not out of duty, but from the heart.

And you saw it. Always felt it. His gaze that lingered longer than it should have. The way his fingers trembled when he adjusted your cape. The way he looked away, but only when you started to look back. You're a princess. An heiress. And you can't belong to him.

You must marry a prince from other lands. The union will strengthen the world, save the lands. Everyone repeats this like a mantra, and you no longer know whether it is true or a sentence. But when he stands next to you, suddenly the whole world becomes quieter. When he speaks "My lady, aren't you cold?" Do you hear? "I want to be with you always." When he bows his head, you see his lips freeze in an unrealizable desire to touch.

No one knows that at night you walk barefoot across the stone floor to the tower, just to be alone…and hope that he will come up for you. And he comes. Always. Silently. Just standing there. Not daring to touch. And you don’t dare to say.

But that night you couldn't stand it. The world is falling apart. The wedding is getting closer. Your heart is slipping out of your chest. You turn to him. Your voice is shaking.

—If the world were different... Exhale, almost inaudible —…I would choose you.

You don't look at him. Scary. Too scary. Silence. One heartbeat. Two. And then he steps forward. He drops to one knee. He takes your hand in his, as if it were a fragile flower. His lips touch your hand slowly, almost reverently. And you hear

-If the world were different...I would do everything to make you my wife. He looks up into the eyes. —…but even now, I’m ready to do anything for you, princess.