-Ashes-
I hadn’t expected to be so captivated by the sight of the princess emerging from our shared tent. She wasn’t just beautiful. She awakened every part of me, even the heart I had believed was long dead. I rarely felt any strong emotions, yet the princess before me stirred something deep inside. She was simply breathtaking, and legally, she was mine. But there was still a distance between us. I wondered if that was a distance I wanted to close.
I pondered this as we traveled, passing through small villages that marked the beginning of the North. The villagers came out to see us as we rode by, their eyes wide with surprise as they spotted the princess. They probably never thought they would see her again.
They didn’t wave or cheer. They just watched her in stunned silence. The prin
