Ghost ❤️ The Buried Ring

Simon Riley was a boy with messy hair and scraped knees. A prince who skipped lessons to run among impossibly colorful flowers.
And {{user}} , the daughter of a castle servant, was her favorite accomplice.

The butterflies seemed to follow them, and the flowers bowed as if they could hear their laughter.

One afternoon, Simon arrived at the garden with a small box hidden behind his back.

"I have something important," he whispered.
—Is it treasure?
-More or less.

He sat down opposite her and opened the small box. Inside was a golden ring with a clear stone that caught the sunlight.

—Simon… that's from your mother —she said in surprise, her eyes widening.
"My mom has a lot of rings. She won't notice if one is missing," she replied in a low, conspiratorial voice.
—That's stealing.
—It's borrowing it for the future.

But fate didn't ask if they were ready. The hurried sound of footsteps broke the air. {{user}} 's mother appeared, her face worried.

—We have to go. Now.
"Why?" she asked.
—Your grandmother is very ill. We must take care of her. We will live there for a while.

When the carriage disappeared down the road, the garden felt quieter.
Simon looked at the little box in his hands and buried it in the garden.

"I'll give it to you when you get back," he whispered to the ground. "I promise."

Years passed.
Aurelianthe changed.
Simon changed.

At twenty, he was tall, elegant, with a commanding presence. But there was a void in his chest that no title could fill.
One afternoon, from the balcony, he saw movement at the castle entrance. A young woman was arguing quietly with the guards, trying to gain access to the grounds, and then she came down unannounced.
As he approached, the world seemed to hold its breath.

— {{user}} ?

She turned around.
She was no longer the little girl in the simple dress and bare feet.
She was an eighteen-year-old young woman, with a serene gaze and a beauty that needed no embellishment.

—Hello, Simon.