Violet
The silence of dawn was heavy. Not even the branches creaked, as if the forest itself feared to breathe.We were about to leave. The cabin no longer felt like a refuge — it was a prison, surrounded by invisible eyes. I could feel the weight of a presence all around us. Something — or someone — was watching.Then I heard it.The muffled sound of hooves on snow. Four riders broke through the mist, hooded, their spears raised. They wore Cardan's colors — the silver crest emblazoned over the deep blue of their cloaks. My fingers clenched the sheets around me, pulling the veil over my face. Instinctively, I shrank back, covering everything, as if the fabric could make me invisible.Draven stepped forward, his hood casting shadows over his face. His body was tense. I saw his hand brush the hilt of his sword, but he didn't draw it."You…" one of the soldiers said, his voice hoarse and marked by years of battle. He was older than the others, perhaps a veteran. His eyes narrowed. "Kael Draven. The Hound of Espadaris."The blood drained from my face."I'm not your enemy," Draven said firmly, though the tension in his jaw betrayed him."An enemy crossing the border in the heart of winter, sheltered in royal territory…" The man tugged on the reins, advancing. "What are you doing here? Spying? Kidnapping villagers? Or perhaps… princesses?"Draven stepped forward, blocking their view of my face."I was looking for a passage to the Alderian Valley. We needed medicine. The cold nearly killed us. I found the cabin by chance. I didn't know it was Cardan's territory.""Liar," the veteran growled. "You were trained to survive any climate. You know the border like the back of your hand. You'd never lose your way just because of a little snow."He raised his spear."Show us who's with you. Now."My heart beat like war drums. I couldn't breathe. Draven's fingers trembled slightly. For a moment, the world froze.Then he acted.With a swift motion, he kicked snow forward, raising a white curtain before the soldiers. He ran to me and grabbed my waist."Violet, come on!" he whispered.The horse was already saddled. We leapt on, his hands tight on the reins. When the soldiers tried to react, we were already fleeing.But the veteran was quick. He came around the side and tried to reach me. I felt his hand grab my arm — strong, calloused. My veil came loose.And then he saw me.His eyes met mine. And at the exact moment horror formed on his face, his voice broke the silence:"The princess! The princess is with the enemy! He's kidnapped her!"The shout echoed through the trees."They've taken her! The Hound of Espadaris has kidnapped the king's daughter!"Draven struck the horse hard. We flew through the trunks, the soldiers close behind. Arrows began to chase us, whistling past. One nearly grazed my shoulder. The cold cut my skin, but I barely felt it.Draven weaved expertly. In a deft move, he drew his sword and struck down one of the soldiers trying to intercept us. The man fell with a groan muffled by the snow.The trees became a labyrinth. Draven guided the horse through the shadows, twisting trails and cutting through paths I couldn't even see. Finally, the sound of hooves behind us faded.Silence returned. But this time, it was heavy as lead.We stopped near a frozen stream, hidden among dense pine branches. Draven dismounted, his eyes scanning the horizon.I was trembling. But it wasn't just the cold."They saw me," I whispered at last. "They saw my face."Draven nodded. His face was pale."And they recognized you. The old man… he saw you."I swallowed hard. The bitter taste of truth spread in my mouth."They'll tell my father. They'll say I was kidnapped. That you took me." I locked eyes with him. "There will be war, Draven."He lowered his head."It wasn't supposed to be like this.""The captain… he looked into my eyes. He knows who I am. Officially, my father now has a reason. He'll declare war on your kingdom. He'll declare war… on my kidnapper."My words hurt me more than they hurt him. But they were real.Draven didn't reply. He just stepped away and stared into the forest, as if he wanted to disappear into it.And for the first time since it all began… I feared not only what was coming, but what we had become.Draven was still standing, staring at the void between the trees. His chest rose and fell, slower and slower, as if trying to control something growing inside him — maybe rage, maybe guilt.I dismounted, my trembling legs barely holding me up. I approached slowly. He heard my steps but didn't turn."Draven…" my voice came out softer than I expected. "What do we do now?"He took a while to answer. When he did, his voice was almost a whisper:"Now… now there's no turning back."The words hurt more because they were true. I knew it. Those soldiers would return with the news. The old veteran, who knew an enemy's face better than his own sons', would never fail to report what he saw. A knight of Espadaris, the king's brother, fleeing with Cardan's daughter veiled. And then, the veil falling. My face revealed. Recognized. Marked.I was silent for a moment before murmuring:"They wouldn't understand that I came of my own will.""It doesn't matter," he replied, dry. "What matters is the story that reaches the throne first."His words struck me like ice. Because they were right.I sat on a snow-covered rock. I looked at my hands, dirty with earth and frost, as if they belonged to someone else. A princess shouldn't have hands like these. But I was no longer just a princess.I was a fugitive. A missing heir. And soon, a central piece in a conflict that could consume the entire kingdom.Draven approached. He sat beside me. For a moment, I was surprised — he always seemed so strong, so sure of everything. But there, in the forest's shadow, he was human. Tired. Wounded."Tell me the truth," I said. "If I weren't with you… would you have killed them?"Draven took a moment, but answered honestly:"If it were just for me, yes. I would've done whatever it took to escape. But… you were there. And I couldn't let them touch you. Not even for a second."I felt a pang in my chest. Confusion, fear, something more."They said you kidnapped me," I murmured. "When my father hears that… he'll come after us. With all of Cardan's power.""Then we have to leave Cardan," he replied. "Quickly.""And go where?"He hesitated. And when he answered, every syllable carried uncertainty."We can head south. Cross the frozen rivers and seek shelter in neutral territories. Maybe even reach the Varet hills before Cardan's scouts block the passes."I took a deep breath."And then? Will you hand me over to your brother?"Draven turned to me with a hard expression."Never.""Then what will we do? Live in hiding? Wait for war to catch up with us?"He had no answer. And neither did I. Only the sound of our hearts in the forest's silence.The cold grew harsher again. Night would fall in a few hours, and snowflakes were already drifting from the gray sky. Draven stood, helped me back onto the horse. This time, we rode together, and he wrapped his arms around me to keep me warm.As we rode in silence, leaving behind the forest that had been our brief refuge, one thought refused to leave me:Perhaps the war had already been decided before the first blow. Perhaps we were only pieces — queen and knight — moved by invisible hands.But there was still something that belonged to me. My will.And if I could still choose…I looked at Draven, feeling the warmth of his arms, the beat of his heart against my back.If I could still choose, I wanted to fight. Not against a kingdom, but against the fate others tried to write for me.And if that meant being called a traitor, kidnapped, mad, or rebel… then so be it.Because I knew what I saw in that soldier's eyes.As the horse moved through thick snow and the forest faded behind us, Draven leaned in slightly, his rough voice cutting through the silence between us."When all this is over…" he said softly, almost in my ear, "I promise I'll bring you back to this place. But next time… no veils, no running. Just us. Maybe then I'll finally see what it's like to watch you smile without having to flee."My cheeks burned, and I turned my face away, pressing my lips to suppress the laugh. The bastard knew exactly what effect he had. But even without saying a word, the answer was in the shy curve of my smile.