Morning arrived without courtesy, as if the sunlight deliberately crept in only to confirm that something was wrong inside Ravenna Palace. The air was still cold, yet not the familiar kind of cold. This one felt like distance. Elena woke with a strange hollowness in her chest, an emptiness she could not explain no matter how hard she searched her own thoughts for words.
Alessandro was already awake, as usual, but this time there was a difference she could not ignore. He stood by the window, posture straight, shoulders rigid, his presence sealed shut like an iron door locked from the inside. Elena watched him for several seconds, waiting for something. A sharp remark. A dry comment. Even the usual irritated glance that greeted her most mornings.
Nothing came. Even the silence felt formal, as though she were being addressed with etiquette instead of familiarity.
"Good morning," Elena said at last, her voice softer than usual, as if she were afraid of disturbing something fragile. She did not know what it was, but her instincts told her that today was not a day for raised voices.
Alessandro turned his head just enough to offer a brief nod, expressionless. "Morning." His tone was flat. Not cold, but not warm either. That was precisely the problem. Elena was far more accustomed to Alessandro's cutting coldness than to this distant indifference.
She blinked a few times, trying to adjust to this new reality. Forcing a small smile, the kind that usually eased the minor tensions between them. It earned no response. Not even the faint crease of a sarcastic frown that normally came as a bonus.
Something had changed. Elena could feel it clearly, like a fine crack beneath her feet that had not collapsed yet, but was enough to make anyone hesitate before taking another step.
---
In the dining room, the atmosphere was more awkward than plates too large for a table too small. Matteo sat comfortably, holding a piece of bread while sipping his morning wine, a habit that somehow had long been accepted as normal within the Ravenna nobility. Isabella sat across from him, observing the scene with narrowed eyes, like a spectator watching a familiar drama and waiting for its climax.
"Why do you two look like a couple who just had a fight and are pretending nothing happened?" Matteo asked while chewing, entirely unapologetic.
Elena choked on her warm tea. "We are not…" She stopped, then sighed, realizing how pointless the clarification sounded. "Nothing is going on."
Alessandro pulled out a chair and sat with stiff movements. "Eat," he said shortly, as if any conversation longer than three words were a waste of energy.
Isabella set her spoon down slowly. "Normally you would scold Matteo for speaking while eating," she said calmly, though her eyes were sharp. "Today you do not care?"
"There are more important matters," Alessandro replied without looking up.
Matteo grinned. "Wow. That is cold. Are we back to the early edition of Alessandro the Frozen North?"
Alessandro shot him a sharp glance. "Do not provoke me."
Elena lowered her gaze, fingers tightening around her cup. Every word Alessandro spoke today felt like a quiet withdrawal, pulling himself farther away without warning. A new distance was forming, and it hurt more than open anger ever could.
Isabella studied Elena, then Alessandro, then Elena again. Something in her expression shifted, growing more serious. "Did you two argue?" she asked at last.
"No," Alessandro answered too quickly.
"No," Elena answered too softly.
Matteo snorted. "Ah. The classic combination. This is worse than a fight."
---
The afternoon brought bright sunlight, yet it failed to chase away the shadows in Elena's heart. She walked through the palace corridors with measured steps, matching Alessandro's pace as he moved ahead of her. Usually they would be talking by now. About strategy. About the curse. Or about trivial matters that somehow turned into absurd debates.
Today, Alessandro walked as if Elena were nothing more than a shadow that happened to follow.
"Alessandro," Elena called finally, stopping in the middle of the corridor. Her voice did not tremble, but her chest felt tight. "What is wrong?"
He stopped, though he did not turn right away. Several seconds passed before he finally faced her, his features masked once more behind a carefully composed coldness. "Nothing."
"You are pulling away," Elena said, more a statement than an accusation.
"It is safer," Alessandro replied briefly.
Safer. The word hung in the air, heavy and unfamiliar. Elena frowned. "Safer from what?"
Alessandro looked at her for a long moment, too long, as if weighing something dangerous. "From mistakes," he said at last. "From things that should not happen."
Elena's heart began to pound. She remembered the kiss. Brief. Unplanned. Full of confusion. Her chest warmed and ached at the same time. "Do you regret it?" she asked quietly.
Alessandro looked away. "Feelings are a weakness."
The answer felt like a dull blade pressed slowly against her skin. Not an immediate wound, but a lingering pain. Elena took a deep breath, forcing her voice to remain steady. "I did not ask anything of you."
"I know," Alessandro replied. "That is the problem."
---
In the late afternoon, Elena sat alone in the inner garden, a place that usually served as neutral ground for the two of them. The southern wind blew gently, carrying the scent of flowers and damp earth. Normally, this place made her feel strong and clear headed. Today, even the sun felt too distant.
She stared at her hands, remembering how Alessandro usually stood nearby. Never touching, yet close enough to make her feel she was not alone. Now, that space felt like a chasm.
"I am just a burden," she murmured without realizing it.
The words slipped out so easily that Elena startled herself. She let out a small, bitter laugh. "Ridiculous," she told herself. "It is only the curse."
But her feelings refused to remain logical. Each time Alessandro pulled away, something inside her collapsed little by little. She began to wonder whether her presence truly was nothing more than a complication, something to be avoided for the sake of a Northern noble's honor.
Matteo appeared from behind the hedges, carrying an apple of unknown origin. "You look like someone who just got left without an explanation," he said as he sat on the garden bench.
Elena sighed. "I am not…"
"Left?" Matteo cut in. "Yes, I know. You are not even officially anything yet. That is what makes it worse."
Elena shot him a sharp look. "Since when are you wise?"
"Since I got tired of watching smart people act foolish when it comes to feelings," Matteo replied casually. "And you, Lady Elena, are heading straight in that direction."
Elena smiled faintly, though her eyes did not follow. "Alessandro is pulling away. That is all."
Matteo nodded slowly. "He is afraid," he said. "And frightened people tend to hurt others without realizing it."
---
Night fell quickly, bringing the familiar Northern cold that restored Alessandro's strength, at least physically. His emotions, however, remained tightly locked away, guarded like state secrets. He stood on his balcony, staring into the dark sky, trying to ignore the restless unease that refused to leave him.
He was protecting Elena. That was the thought he repeated over and over. The curse was dangerous, and emotional attachment would only worsen everything. If he distanced himself now, if he built higher walls, Elena would be safer.
Yet every breath felt wrong without her presence nearby. A void opened inside him that logic and discipline could not fill.
Isabella knocked on the door and entered without waiting for permission. "You are an idiot," she said flatly.
Alessandro turned sharply. "Leave."
Isabella smiled faintly. "No." She stepped closer and leaned against the wall. "You are trying to protect her in the most painful way possible."
"I am doing what is necessary," Alessandro replied coldly.
"No," Isabella countered. "You are doing what is easiest for you."
The words struck harder than he expected. Alessandro clenched his fists. "I cannot lose her."
"By pushing her away, you already are," Isabella said gently, yet firmly.
---
In another room, Elena lay with her back turned toward Alessandro, even though the distance between them felt like an entire world. She closed her eyes, listening to his steady breathing, and felt the strange calm that always came with his presence, this time accompanied by pain.
"I am only a side effect," she thought. "A part of the curse."
But deep in her heart, she knew that was not entirely true. The first crack had appeared, subtle yet real, and they now stood on opposite sides of it, both wounded by good intentions gone astray.
That night, for the first time since the curse had bound them together, Alessandro and Elena slept with hearts equally restless. The crack had not yet become a chasm, but it was wide enough to make them wonder whether they could bridge it, or whether they would fall into it instead.