Velaris Garden – Many Years Ago
The grand gardens of Velaris stretched endlessly, their beauty a tapestry of emerald hedges, rose-covered arches, and fountains that whispered with flowing crystal water. But beyond the polished paths, hidden from the watchful eyes of attendants, there was a small grove where an ancient oak stood tall, its sprawling branches like protective arms embracing the earth.
This was their place.
Young Lyra skipped across the damp grass, her shoes muddied from sneaking past the guards. Her laughter was light, like bells in the wind, as she twirled with arms spread wide. Behind her, Kaelrin followed at a slower pace, cautious, always the serious one.
"Kael!" Lyra called, spinning around. "Hurry! The stars will come out soon, and we'll miss them if you walk like an old man!"
Kaelrin frowned but quickened his steps. "I'm not slow. I'm careful."
Lyra giggled. "Careful is boring."
She plopped herself beneath the oak tree and patted the grass beside her. "Sit. If you don't, I'll tell the gardener you're the one who trampled the tulips yesterday."
Kaelrin's eyes widened. "That wasn't me!"
"I know," she teased with a grin, "but they'll believe me."
With a sigh of defeat, Kaelrin sat beside her, back against the sturdy trunk. Lyra leaned her head back, gazing up through the branches where the twilight sky slowly unveiled its stars.
For a long moment, there was silence. Just the rustle of leaves, the soft chirp of crickets, and the sound of two young hearts beating in sync.
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A Promise Under the Stars
"Kael," Lyra whispered suddenly, her voice serious in a way it rarely was. "Do you think people can really decide their own destinies?"
He blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Like… if someone tells you that you're supposed to be this or that—what if you don't want it? What if you want something else?"
Kaelrin looked down at his hands, frowning. He had been raised to understand one truth: as the heir to the Velaris dukedom, his life was not his own. Duty first, always.
"I don't think I can choose," he admitted quietly. "My father says a Duke doesn't live for himself. He lives for his people."
Lyra turned her head sharply, eyes flashing. "That's stupid. You're not just a Duke—you're Kaelrin. And you should get to decide what makes you happy."
Her words struck something deep within him. Something fragile.
"Then… what if I chose wrong?"
Lyra's smile softened. She reached out, her small hand brushing against his. "Then I'll be there to remind you what's right."
Their fingers lingered together, hesitant yet warm.
"Kael," she said firmly, her gaze locking with his, "let's make a promise. No matter what happens, no matter what people say, we'll never forget who we are when we're here. Under this tree. Beneath these stars."
His throat tightened, but he nodded. "I promise."
She grinned and raised her pinky finger. "Then seal it."
Awkwardly, he hooked his pinky with hers. The childish gesture felt strangely sacred beneath the silent heavens.
And in that moment, Kaelrin believed her. Believed that no matter how heavy his chains became, there would always be one place, one person, who saw him for more than a title.
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The Secret They Shared
The night grew colder, and Lyra leaned closer, wrapping her arms around her knees. After a while, she spoke again, quieter this time.
"Kael… can I tell you a secret?"
He turned toward her. "What kind of secret?"
"The kind you can't tell anyone else. Ever."
He straightened, solemn. "I'll never tell."
Lyra hesitated, then whispered, "Sometimes, I hear voices."
Kaelrin blinked. "Voices?"
She nodded quickly. "Not like people talking around me. It's… different. Like whispers in the wind, soft, almost like they're telling me something important. But no one else hears them."
He frowned, confused. "What do they say?"
Her eyes flickered with unease. "I don't always understand. But once, they said… 'Stay close to him, for his path will be lonely.'"
The words sent a strange chill down Kaelrin's spine.
"Maybe it's just your imagination," he muttered.
"Maybe," she said, though her expression told him she wasn't convinced.
She forced a smile then, brushing off the heaviness. "That's why you can't tell anyone, Kael. They'll think I'm strange. Promise you won't?"
He nodded instantly. "I promise. Always."
For a while, they sat in silence, leaning against each other beneath the oak's vast branches. Above them, the stars shone brighter than ever, as if sealing the vow they had just made.
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Years Later – Present Day (Ballroom Balcony)
Lyra stood alone on the balcony after the dance, the night air cool against her flushed cheeks. Her hand still tingled from where Kaelrin had held it, and her mind replayed his whispered question:
"Do you still keep promises made beneath stars?"
Her breath caught. He remembered.
The memory of the oak tree, their joined pinkies, the voices she once confessed—all of it surged back with such intensity it hurt.
"Yes," she murmured to herself, eyes lifting to the stars above the palace. "I've always kept them, Kael."
Unseen by her, Kaelrin stood hidden in the shadows once more, his gaze locked on her fragile silhouette against the moonlight. His chest tightened with the same ache he'd felt that night years ago.
You promised you'd remind me what was right… he thought silently.
But what if what's right is the very thing I'm forbidden to have?
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Chapter End – To Be Continued