Inside the royal palace's grand library, sunlight filtered through stained-glass windows, casting golden streaks across the aged wooden shelves.
The air was warm, steeped in the scent of old paper and dried ink.
Raine sat at a round table near the window, scribbling notes in the margins of an ancient book on the history of the Northern Kingdoms.
His movements were calm, precise—
As if everything around him followed a rhythm only he understood.
He turned the page,
But his eyes didn't follow the words.
They lingered in the void,
His mind far from the present.
"Have I always been like this? Just a shadow hiding behind the heavy curtains of this palace?"
"Or… did I choose this role for myself?"
He never cared much for war, nor parties, nor politics.
But he knew how to listen,
How to observe,
How to fade into the corners of a room without drawing attention.
Even the Crown Prince—despite their long friendship—never treated him like a knight,
But rather, as a quiet observer of the unspoken.
A soft echo of footsteps broke the silence.
A palace guard entered the library:
"Sir Raine, His Highness the Crown Prince awaits you in the garden."
Raine nodded gently, closed the book,
And took with him the small notebook that never left his side.
As he walked through the halls,
He spotted the princess.
She walked alone, her head lowered—
As if the weight of her crown still clung to her shoulders, even after laying it down.
She passed him without a glance,
But as always, Raine noticed what no one else did:
Her eyes were tired.
He reached the garden and found the Crown Prince sitting beneath the old fig tree.
Raine smiled and sat beside him,
Just like they had done since they were boys.
They didn't speak right away.
The silence between them was easy, familiar.
A silence that didn't need explaining.
Then, suddenly, the prince said:
"You look pale, Raine."
Raine gave a soft smile.
"Perhaps I didn't sleep well."
"Dreams again?" the prince asked.
Raine nodded. Then, in a low voice, said:
"This time… there was a face I've never seen before."
The prince looked at him, curious—
But Raine said no more.
Inside, he felt something strange.
As if something was drawing near.
Something he couldn't name…
Yet couldn't ignore.