Somewhere in the kingdom of Altea…

A small wagon, pulled by two horses, was strolling along the path through the woods of the kingdom of Altea. The environment in the realm was barely recovering after the flames of the war that took place just one year before finally died out, after causing grave devastation not just to Altea, but to the entire continent, which they called “The War of the Heroes”. The path through which the carriage traveled was extremely bumpy, and it reached a point it had become completely impassable for the horses. The coachman had to stop when he was unable to continue any further.

“That’s as far I can get you guys,” he said to his two passengers, who took this as their cue to get down.

The first one was a young man, around nineteen or twenty years old, tall and strongly-built, with short, slightly messy blue hair, wearing clothes of the same color, deerskin boots and gloves, and a silvery protective chest plate, bearing the emblem of Altea’s Royal Guards. On his back, he carried a huge, double-edged sword inside its sheath, which despite its size didn’t cause him to stumble at all.

His companion was a young woman about his same age, although she was much shorter in stature and with a notably slimmer build. She had short, light-purple hair, and wore a matching dress with dark purple, thigh-high boots, and a red scarf around her neck. They both carried satchels with supplies and travel cloaks, which they immediately put on once they got off the wagon.

The girl approached the coachman. “We can go the rest of the way on foot,” she said as she handed him a bag full of gold coins. “Thank you very much”.

“I’ll come and pick you guys up tomorrow at noon,” the coachman said. “Whatever you’re gonna do, I hope that’s enough time. Be careful out there.”

“We will,” the boy replied.

The coachman turned around and went back through the same way he came from, leaving the young couple with the path through the woods before them.

“Really, Kris, there was no need for you to come with me,” the girl said.

“I came because I wanted to,” replied the young man, whose name was Kris. “Besides, we haven’t had the chance to spend much time together lately, Katarina.”

The girl, who went by the name Katarina, couldn’t help but smile to her companion’s comment. But she didn’t complain at all. Spending time with him was the biggest joy she could wish for.

Without further words, both of them pulled their satchels over their backs and started walking down the path.

As they strutted down, Katarina’s mind traveled to the memories she had of the last two or three years, since the time she and Kris first met each other. She’d never forget that day, when she bumped into him by accident, not paying any attention while she walked, right at the entrance of Altea Castle. At that moment, she had no idea of the great destiny that awaited them.

Kris could have forged to himself a grand name during the War of the Heroes, had he chosen to do so. All of those who fought by his side agreed on one thing: his contribution to put an end to the conflict was almost as important, if not as important, as that of Prince Marth himself. Not just during battles, he was also instrumental in the rescue and recruiting of many allies, old and new alike. He was more than a vassal at the service of Marth. He had become his confidant, his closest friend, his right-hand man.

And once it was all over, he surprised everyone by saying that he didn’t want his name to be recorded by history. He preferred to stay in anonymity, arguing that people only needed one hero who would serve as the light everyone would gather around and come together, and that was Marth. And he, Kris, would help him with his mission from the shadows. Marth was sure that fate had brought Kris to him with that purpose.

And the more she thought about it, the more Katarina believed that it was that same reason that she met him. For starters, that wasn’t even her real name. She was nothing more than a poor orphan girl who was picked up to be used as a weapon. She thought her mission was clear, to assassinate Marth once she had the chance. But the time went by, and all of the moments she spent with Kris, and the rest of the members of the Seventh Platoon of Altea’s new recruits, she began to see things with other eyes. She finally had friends, people who accepted and loved her, and she felt devastated at the thought she would have to eventually betray them.

After failing in her mission, she vanished from sight, and as she bided her time, many tales came to her ears, as how Marth’s came out victorious of all of the adversities, aside from the fact that, very frequently, they mentioned a particular soldier who was always by the side of the Altean Prince to support him. She knew exactly who that was. And at long last, the so-awaited reunion came to be.

…

As Prince Marth and the rest of the army took on the enemy forces, Kris moved forward and fought his way to his real goal. The first time he faced against her he couldn’t do anything to prevent her from leaving. Back then, he had no idea what was going on.

But now he knew, and he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

Katarina didn’t stop bombarding him with her spells, but he had the strange feeling that she wasn’t aiming to kill. She was missing on purpose, as if, rather than trying to keep him away, she wanted him to reach her. And once he finally did, she ceased her assault.

“Katarina, please! Listen to me!” the swordfighter yelled. To make it clear that he didn’t want to fight, the first thing he did was sheathing his sword.

“Kris… Why? Why do you refuse to fight…?” Katarina replied, she seemed to be on the verge of tears. “You must know that you’ll die if you don’t kill me… And yet, why do you hesitate?”

“Because you’re my friend,” he replied, smiling at her. Katarina didn’t budge at this, but Kris kept going. “You can’t have forgotten. Our days training as knights… The times we fought together with Luke, Roderick, Ryan and Cecille. ‘Together, we’d be an unstoppable team’… That’s what you told me.”

Katarina didn’t say anything, but Kris could see in her eyes that, indeed, his words were working. Surely enough, in that moment she was recalling all those moments they spent together. Her effort to keep holding back those tears became more blatant.

“That was… That was all… a lie,” she said, her voice starting to crack. “Everything I did was to deceive you… It was all just a ruse… The truth is… I don’t care about you…”

“If that’s the case… Then why are you crying, now?” Kris asked.

“…I’m… not…”

Katarina tried to hide it, but it was too late. She couldn’t hold them anymore. The poor girl fell to her knees as she clutched on her chest. If she really had any will to fight inside her, at this time it would be gone, for good. Kris approached her, and kneeling down, he gently held her shoulders.

“Katarina. You don’t belong here,” he whispered to her. “You want to fight alongside me, for Prince Marth. I’m certain of it.”

“It’s… too late for that.” She kept sobbing, not daring to look to him in the eyes. “I’ve committed too many unforgivable sins…”

“Then, you’ll just have to start atoning for them,” Kris insisted. “It won’t be easy. Many people from both Altea and your organization will turn you a cold shoulder… But, I can promise you this. No matter what happens, I’ll stand by your side.”

“Kris…” She finally looked at him again. She couldn’t believe he was in front of her, looking at her with compassion, and willing to forgive her, even though she didn’t deserve it.

“Return to us, Katarina.”

Letting go of the small sliver of pride she had left, Katarina jumped at the neck of her old teammate, crying out his name in-between her sobs. The boy was caught a little off-guard by this sudden action of hers, but he didn’t dare push her away.

He had this strangest sensation, that if she was crying so much at this moment, it was to shed all the tears that she kept inside her and that before, for any reason, she couldn’t let out before. He wouldn’t stop her until she let out the very last of them. He surrounded her with his own arms, so she could see that, no matter what happened, he’d be there to protect her, and wouldn’t let her go anymore.

…

Katarina had never cried so much in her life. When she was a child, she couldn’t let herself to shed one single tear, for she knew the punishment that awaited her if she did. “Puppets don’t cry”, was what they always said to her. She had always seen herself as that, as a simple puppet who existed to do what she was ordered to, no questions. And when she was unable to do so, all she wanted was for her life to end. Who cared if someone like her vanished from the world? Who would be sad if she ceased to exist?

She was surprised to see that there were so many people who wanted her back. Not just Kris, also Prince Marth, who, when she begged to be executed for her crimes, not only refused to do so, but also told her that her punishment would be to live and find the way of atoning for her sins. Death was no atonement; it was only a way to run away from them. And of course, not all of her former friends welcomed her back with open arms immediately. Cecille, in particular, was the most affected by her betrayal, and she had to work hard to earn her trust again.

It hadn’t been easy, but in the end, it all had been worth it. Her only regret was that her dear “sister”, Clarisse, didn’t live long enough to know that life she had now. And indeed, that was the reason for her to come to this place.

“So, are you finally going to tell me where we’re going?” Kris asked.

“We’re almost there,” she answered. “This place… is very important to me.”

Kris was still somewhat impatient to know what mystery Katarina was keeping about this place, but he had known her long enough to understand how hard it was for her to talk about her past. She would only do it with certain people, and at some places where she felt at ease, so he didn’t push her any further. The fact he had allowed him to tag along in this trip of hers said a lot.

Once they finally cleared the path, they reached what seemed to be their destination. It was an old fort that seemed to have seen better days, as it looked very run-down by the passing of time. Hidden amongst the thickness of the woods, it seemed the perfect place for a bandit hideout, and Kris had the feeling it was exactly that. Or at least, it had been once, as the abandonment had taken its toll on it. From the outside it was pretty clear that nobody had set foot in that place in a very long, long time.

“I apologize,” Katarina finally spoke. “There’s something in this place I want to find, if you’re here, you could help me find it.”

“I have no problem with that,” Kris assured her. “But, will you finally tell me what this place is?”

“It used to be the hideout of a group of bandits. They called themselves the Soothsires,” Katarina explained. That name rang a bell to Kris.

“I’ve heard about them.” The swordfighter nodded. “They were the cruelest and most bloodthirsty in the region, and had no respect for the lives of other. People called them “the Demons of the Samtooths Mountains”. But as far as I know, Prince Marth managed to wipe out most of them during the War of Shadows.”

“He did,” Katarina replied. “However, some survivors who managed to escape established themselves here, and tried to expand their influence, during the period in-between the two wars.”

“How do you know that?” Kris asked. Katarina didn’t answer immediately. It was time for her to reveal another important episode of her life that she still kept in the dark.

“Lady Eremiya, the priestess who looked after us… sent a small group to this place,” she began. “Clarisse and I were part of that group. Our orders were to kill every single of them, not leaving any survivors.”

Kris felt somewhat uneasy as he pictured what Katarina was telling. He already knew that the organization that pursued Prince Marth and the rest of his allies during the War of the Heroes were actually a bunch of orphans picked from the war and trained as assassins. Katarina was one of them, and she occasionally mentioned her other friend, Clarisse. He could still remember when they went after the head of the organization, the bishop named Eremiya. In that moment, Katarina was the one who wanted to confront her, by herself, thinking it was a chapter of her life she had to close on her own.

By the time he reached the room, the deed was done: Katarina was standing, and a woman with purple hair and religious robes laid on the floor, still alive, but clearly agonizing due to a grave wound inflicted on her chest, with large burn marks. Katarina’s look had no satisfaction or joy at all. Only pain and sorrow for having to do that, and she didn’t have the heart to finish her off. She just told Kris for both of them to get out of there, clearly unable to look at that picture anymore, and he didn’t question her.

“So… What happened in this place?” Kris finally asked.

“When we came, they had a large group of women and children locked up in here,” Katarina continued. “To be honest, the only reason I felt it was so easy to slaughter them was because I wanted to help those people. I’m just sorry to say I was the only one who felt that way.”

“I see,” Kris said. “Well, we’re finally here, shall we go in?”

“Yes, of course.”

The two of them went inside the fort. Katarina seemed to know exactly where they were going, even though she had only been once in that place, almost three years before. The passing of time had been as unkind to the inside of the fort as much as the outside, everything was covered in dust and full of spider-webs everywhere. They finally stopped in front of a door that led to a storage room.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Here it is,” Katarina said.

The door was shut with a huge padlock, so rusted that maybe even if they had the key they would be unable to open it. Katarina just took her spellbook, aimed with her finger and let out a small electric spark to cause the lock to pop off. Afterward, Kris pushed the door open, it was somewhat stuck due to the dirt it had accumulated over the years.

The room was full of items covered in large cloths, perhaps furniture, paintings, sculptures and other valuable objects. The cloths, maybe white in what seemed like a long distant era, had accumulated so much dust their color was unrecognizable. Perhaps that was to preserve all of those objects they had covered for so long.

Katarina walked towards a corner, where there was one long cloth placed over what seemed, judging by the shapes they could see underneath, a set of paintings, which was confirmed when the girl took it off. There were many of them, and Kris could notice they had been very well-preserved, considering they had only been protected by that old dirty cloth. Surely enough the bandits thought they could make a pretty penny by selling them, except they never had the chance to. However, Katarina only had eyes for one of them specifically.

“This is it.” She picked it up.

Kris approached to look at it. A family portrait. A man, a woman, most certainly husband and wife, and two children, most likely their son and daughter. They seemed very happy together.

“At the time, when I first saw it, I had no idea,” Katarina said, most likely referring to her previous visit to this old fort. “But now I know. This painting… these are Clarisse and her family.”

Kris looked at the painting. He focused his attention on the girl, who had blond hair and dark blue eyes. There was something eerily familiar in her.

And then he realized. In his mind, the smile of the girl was erased, being replaced by a gesture of disdain and an air of smugness and superiority. Adding up maybe ten more years of age, and having her hair grow down to her back, with a pair of long, thin bangs falling down her temples… no, could it really be her?

Kris recalled having seen a female archer, almost the same age as Katarina, and matching that same physical description, in a few of the encounters they had with the assassins going after Prince Marth and his allies. Normally, she retreated before he could have reached her, until the time came for her to face them personally…

…

The assassins thought they had the advantage by attacking them in the middle of the night and the blizzard, as they passed through the icy mountains. None of them imagined that the will of Prince Marth and his followers was strong enough to challenge such adversity from nature itself. Certainly enough, the Prince of Altea was a worthy heir to his ancestor Anri.

As they had mostly cleared their area, he had this strange sensation, like an electric pricking in his chest. The boy had gained fame for having a “sixth sense” which always alerted him whenever one of his comrades was in danger, and he was never wrong. Upon turning around, he could see Prince Marth, ready to finish off three opponents who tried (futilely) to block his way. He was doing well and he clearly didn’t need his help… until he saw the other way.

Hidden behind a large boulder, a sniper had prepared a long-range bow and was readying one of her sharpest arrows, taking advantage of the fact that the Prince had his back towards her, and wouldn’t see her in time to evade. He didn’t say a word, he simply held with a firm grip his sword and pressed forward. Being close to her, he could hear her say:

“You want to escape from this darkness. I’m afraid I won’t let you. You won’t see the sunlight ever again…”

*SLASH!*

“Aaaaaahhhh!”

The sniper let out a scream when she felt a blade piercing through her shoulder, and then slashing part of her back. She managed to shoot the arrow, but Kris’ timely intervention caused it to go stray and instead hit the neck of one of the assassins who were fighting against Marth, making him drop to never get up again. The female sniper got enraged and upon seeing her aggressor she immediately turned around to curse at him:

“How dare you?! I’ll kill anybody in my way!! JUST WATCH ME, I’LL KILL YOU ALL-ugh!!”

Not having the time or the mood to suffer her, Kris smacked him in the back of her head to knock her unconscious. The wound he had inflicted on her wasn’t fatal, and if she had the fortune of someone coming to pick her up, she might survive that, but she would never be able to hold a bow in her life, ever again.

“Kris!” Marth called out for him.

“Are you alright, Sire?” Kris answered, clearly more concerned for the safety of his liege than his own.

“Yes, I am! Thank you, you saved my life!”

Not stopping before the unconscious body of his enemy, Kris looked around, most of the remaining assailants were fleeing, upon seeing they stood no chance. Seeing their path was clear, the logical action was to keep moving forward, Anri’s Way would still be harsh and treacherous, and their goal was clear.

…

Back in the present time, Kris looked at the portrait again. It almost seemed impossible for that young girl, who seemed so cheery and sweet with her family, would grow up to become a cruel and merciless killer. But even though that in itself pained him greatly, it was nothing compared to the terrible thought that invaded him afterwards.

“What happened to her?” he finally asked once he could talk again.

“Clarisse didn’t like talking much about her past,” Katarina said. “Still, from what little I managed to get from her, her parents and brother were killed by bandits, and their home was ransacked. She ended up in the same orphan home as me. She didn’t like people seeing her cry, so she always did so wherever nobody could see her. She constantly said that she hated weak people, and that someday, she’d be strong enough to not to depend on anyone.”

“Losing her family must have taken its toll on her,” Kris said.

“I can only imagine. Truth to be told… I think I felt somewhat envious of her, to an extent,” Katarina continued. “At the very least, she had a clear goal she wanted to achieve. I didn’t even know what I wanted to do with my life, what my purpose was.”

Kris said nothing to that. While there was no way he would sympathize with the cause of an organization of assassins, he could at the very least understand the reasoning behind the mindset of that Clarisse girl. Feeling weak for not being able to protect herself or her family must have left a deep mark on her, leaving a desire to become strong at any cost so nobody could ever hurt her that way again. It did not justify her actions, but it nonetheless made her look as an unfortunate victim of circumstances.

“Katarina, there’s… something I haven’t told you,” Kris said. “That friend of yours, Clarisse…”

“You don’t need to tell me,” Katarina interrupted. “You faced against her, didn’t you?”

Kris looked aside in shame, but Katarina had hit the bullseye. It was best to go straight to the point and let it out immediately. He couldn’t lie to her.

“Her group ambushed us when we traveled through the icy mountains in Anri’s Way,” Kris said. “Obviously we were just trying to move forward and we couldn’t let them stop us. And then I saw her. She was aiming straight at Prince Marth’s back, and without hesitating, I…”

He couldn’t go on. At the time he didn’t hesitate, his duty to protect his lord erased every other thought from his mind. All he knew was that he had to stop her, nothing else.

“I’m so sorry,” he finally said. “I had no idea she was…”

“It’s alright,” Katarina replied. “It was better that you didn’t know. You were protecting Prince Marth, fulfilling your duty.”

“Even so… At the time I thought I was only disabling her. It seems that the wound I inflicted on her was worse than I thought, I…”

“If it makes you feel any better, it wasn’t your fault that she died,” Katarina said. “Rather, it was my fault.”

“How can you say that?”

“When I found her after the battle, I brought her to Lady Eremiya and tried to ask for treatment for her wounds. But Lady Eremiya ordered me to dispose of her; since she had been hurt Clarisse was no longer of use to her.”

Kris gulped down upon hearing those words. How could someone be that cruel? But Katarina wasn’t done just yet. The worst was still yet to come.

“It was me. I let her die,” the girl said, becoming sad as she thought of her friend. “I couldn’t do anything for her. Clarisse could sometimes be smug and mistreated me, but… I always saw her as the little sister I never had. And in her final moments, all she asked of me was to stay with her, so she wouldn’t be all alone…”

A single tear went down Katarina’s cheek upon remembering that moment. Seeing Clarisse, whom she had always admired for being the stronger of the two, lying on a bed, agonizing, so weak, so vulnerable… and she couldn’t do anything to save her life.

“So don’t blame yourself for what happened.” Katarina wiped out her tear. “You know, thinking about her now, it makes me see how lucky I was to have met you that day. I’m sure if she had gotten to know you the way I did… things could have turned out different."

The two of them recalled those training months. All of the moments they spent together. Since that fateful encounter in the gates of Castle Altea when she bumped into him by accident. When she asked him to be her partner as they were grouped in pairs amongst the new recruits. When they were sorted in the 7th Platoon, and how she nominated him as the group’s commander. The good times they had with their other friends, Roderick, Luke and Ryan, and later when she brought Cecille to their platoon after all of her training partners deserted and left her alone. The moment after Prince Marth offered them a place amongst the Royal Guards, and she said she wanted to take that offer.

“Together, we’d be an unstoppable team…”

“When I imagine a future like that, I feel very happy… Um, what about you, Kris? Do you perhaps feel the same way as I…?”

Katarina had no idea if it was just dumb luck or fate’s design that she was the chosen one to infiltrate amongst the new Altean recruits as part of the plot to murder Prince Marth. But now that she looked back, it was the best thing that could have happened to her, if only for that chance meeting with Kris on the castle’s gate, and everything that came after it. But she was also saddened to think, what if instead of her, they had chosen Clarisse for that mission? Or maybe, what if the two of them had been allowed to do it, together? Clarisse might have been somewhat prone to moodiness at times, but if she had gotten to know everyone… to know him, surely enough she could have seen things from a different perspective, and perhaps changed for the better.

“Clarisse might have chosen the wrong way, but she wasn’t so different from me,” Katarina said, as she embraced the painting against her chest. “We both were a pair of orphans from the war, and we were alone in the world. All she wanted was to be loved, accepted… having a place she could call her home. Just like me.”

“I might not have known her as well as you did,” Kris said, “and I’m really sorry we couldn’t save her from that tragic fate. But, if she really was your friend, and I’m sure she was, she’d probably have wanted you to live on, for both.”

“And that’s what I plan to do.” Katarina smiled again.

Having already what she came looking for, Katarina suggested they left the place. Once they got out of the fort they realized it was starting to get dark already, so Kris proposed they set up camp for the night, after all, the coachman would come to pick them up at noon the next day. She went to get some dry wood and used her magic to light up the campfire, while he set up their tent.

Once he was done, they pulled out from their satchels a couple of boxes with food rations, which would be their dinner that night. As she opened her, Katarina thought she was lucky to find Roderick before they left, as she could ask him as a favor to prepare those rations for them. Nobody doubted that amongst the members of the 7th Platoon Kris was the best fighter, but he couldn’t cook anything to save his life. She wasn’t much of a cook either, though at least what she made was, within the acceptable limits, edible, which was more than what could be said of Kris.

Once they were done eating, they both sat close to the fire, as they looked silently at the night sky. Katarina looked at her friend aside, and she thought that now, being completely alone with him, with no one else to disturb them, it was the perfect timing. That time, when the war was almost over, she confessed her feelings for him, but in a low voice, just for herself. She tried to do it as a bit of “rehearsing”, as she fully intended to tell him face to face one day. But when she opened her eyes, she had a big surprise upon seeing he was less than a foot from her, and having no clue on how much of what she said he had heard, her natural reaction was to run off. At the time she felt really embarrassed, but now, she thought it had been funny.

“Hey, Kris…”

“Hmm?”

“I… there’s… there’s something important… I want to tell you.” Unsure as to why, she started twiddling her fingers as she spoke. He either didn’t seem to notice, or if he did, didn’t bother to mention it. “We’re friends, aren't we?”

“Of course we are. Is there any doubt?” Kris said, as if he didn’t get the message. A part of Katarina couldn’t help but feel frustrated at that.

“Yes, I know, but… what I’m trying to say is… with all we’ve been through together…”

Why did it was so hard to say? Why did it seem easier to say when she though he wasn’t listening (or so she thought, at least)? Of course, at the time all she wanted to say was “I like you”. But time went on, and those feelings deepened, changed, and became much stronger. She was happy to be his friend, but now, her heart desired something else, she couldn’t help it.

“Please, don’t take what I’m about to say the wrong way,” she said after taking a deep breath. “You’re the best friend I’ve had in my life, and I’m so happy I could meet you, but… ah, I can’t stand it, my feelings…”

“Shhhhhh.”

Katarina stopped upon feeling Kris’ finger on her lips. When he looked at him again, she realized he was smiling at her, but it was not the usual smile she knew. This time it was different. It was still sincere, as usual, but there was something else to it, a glint in the young man’s eyes she had never seen before.

“You don’t need to say anything,” he said. “I already know.”

“You know?”

“You said it that time, remember?” Kris said. “You were talking to yourself, as if you were practicing something.”

“Wait… are you saying… you heard everything I said that time?” All of a sudden Katarina didn’t feel embarrassed at all, but perhaps just… mad?

“Not everything… just enough of it.” Kris confessed, as he scratched his temple.

“I can’t believe it. You have known all this time, and you kept it to yourself? Why didn’t you tell me anything? How cruel!” Now it was official, she was mad, and she puffed up her cheeks to show it.

“Hey, I wasn’t the one who darted off. You left in such a hurry that you didn’t even give me a chance to give a proper answer.”

After that, she felt her annoyance mellowing out a bit, but not completely. Was it true what he said? Not only he knew of her feelings for him, but he also had his answer ready?

“And why didn’t you say anything?” Katarina asked.

“At the time, I realized that you didn’t feel ready to say it. You were just practicing to yourself, were you?” The girl didn’t speak, but he had hit right on the nail. “I decided to wait until you felt you were ready, and that you’d come to tell me up front.”

“And that time is now?” she said. “I’m not so sure about it.”

“In any case, I think you deserve to know my answer now,” Kris said. “We can agree that much, can we?”

“Just do it at once and please stop…”

Katarina couldn’t say a single word more. In that very instant, she felt her heart skipping a beat, only to start beating harder and faster than ever before. Even if she wanted, she couldn’t say anything, not when her lips had been sealed by his own. She was caught completely off-guard, but it didn’t feel like it was forced at all. It felt warm, gentle… more than anything she had felt in her whole life. She didn’t remember ever receiving a kiss, let alone in the lips. And when he finally let go of her, she took a few seconds to realize she had forgotten to breathe and even blink, just remaining there, motionless, with her mouth slightly open.

“So?”

It was then Katarina regained movement. She felt her entire face burning red-hot. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. But what other answer did she need? Actions spoke louder than words, and this gesture was worth at the very least one million of them.

“You idiot,” she said, letting out a small giggle.

Deciding to take the initiative this time, Katarina started her own kiss as she embraced him tightly. She was surprised at herself, at how strongly she held him, since she had always been way too reserved with gestures of affection, either because she was too shy, or because the people around her neither needed nor wanted her affection. But now that she had someone whom she could give it in full, there was no way she’d waste her chance.

“Katarina." Kris finally let go of her. “There’s something I’d like to ask of you.”

“What is it?”

“Well, you already know, Prince Marth’s crowning ceremony is coming very soon, as well as his wedding with Princess Caeda.”

“Yes, and I also know that you were chosen as the best man for the wedding.” She was still unsure as to where that conversation was leading.

“Then you must know also that I’m going to need a female escort in the ceremony,” the young man replied. “I was starting to get worried I wouldn’t get one in time. Or rather… that I wouldn’t get the only one I want to come with me. What do you say?”

“Did you really have to ask?” Katarina said, embracing him again.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Kris smiled.

They both stayed that way, neither of them wanted to break that moment, so special for both of them. Feeling secure, loved, safe in the arms of the other. Especially Katarina, who in other times that now felt so far, far away, she would have never imagined that she’d find that special person to share the rest of her life. Still, upon feeling a bit sleepy, she regretfully had to let go of him.

“I’m a bit tired now,” she said. “Shall we turn in for the night?”

“You go ahead,” Kris said. “I’ll stay awake for a little longer, just in case.”

“You won’t try to do anything to me in my sleep, won’t you?”

 “Do you think me capable of that?”

Katarina just answered with a cheerful giggle, and after bidding him goodnight she went into the tent. As she curled up inside her sleeping bag before letting herself fall asleep, she couldn’t do anything but imagining what meant what had just happened right now. This day was just the beginning, the beginning of a new life, full of love and happiness, everything she had always wished for. And the most wonderful of all, it wasn’t just for herself. She had a wonderful person to share it. She wouldn’t be alone anymore.

That past in the shadows had finally been left behind, and it would soon be lost into oblivion. Now, she was walking towards a bright future, in the light.

FIN.