The night air grew sharper as the last heat of their bodies faded. Fiore shivered against him and reluctantly sat up, gathering the soft fabric of her dress. She slipped it back on with careful movements, then offered Kaito his clothes. Once they were both decent, she took his hand and led him through the trees to where her mythical white horse waited patiently, silver mane glowing faintly in the dark.
"Don't be afraid," she said gently, guiding his palm to the horse's warm neck. "She is gentle."
Kaito stroked the soft coat, feeling the powerful muscles beneath. The horse huffed softly and leaned into his touch.
Fiore mounted first with effortless grace, then reached down and helped him climb up behind her. He settled carefully, arms sliding around her waist to hold on. The closeness felt natural now, almost necessary.
As the horse began to move, Kaito chuckled against her shoulder. "Back on Earth, it's usually the man riding a horse and the woman holding on to him."
Fiore glanced back with a small, amused smile. "Well then… get used to women being in charge here."
"I don't mind the sound of that at all," he answered, smiling into her hair.
They rode in comfortable silence through the cold night until the palace lights appeared. Fiore guided the horse into the stables, dismounted, and pressed a grateful hand to the creature's muzzle in quiet thanks. Then she took Kaito's hand again and led him through quiet corridors to her private bedchambers.
Inside the elegant room she hesitated, a faint blush rising. "After what we just shared… it feels strange to send you away. Would you…like to stay?"
Kaito's heart swelled. He laced his fingers through hers. "I'd love to share a bed with you, if it's okay. I'm honoured you even ask."
Fiore's expression softened, though a trace of worry remained. "I know I shouldn't. You haven't completed the trials of Kingship, and we were never meant to… be together like this until marriage. Promise me you'll keep this a secret."
"I promise," he said immediately, earnest and warm. "I won't tell a soul. Thank you for trusting me."
They climbed into the large, soft bed together. Fiore settled against his chest while Kaito gently tucked a strand of silver hair behind her pointed ear and began stroking it in slow, soothing passes.
"This is so cosy," he murmured. "So warm with you in here beside me."
Fiore made a soft, contented sound. "I love when you do that. My ears get all tingly…" She paused, then added quietly, "Elf ears are very sensitive. They can sense things others miss… and they're the most sensitive part of our bodies."
Kaito's eyes widened. Curious, he brushed a fingertip along the delicate outer edge of one ear. Fiore's breath hitched and a sudden, unmistakable moan slipped out of her.
"K-Kaito…Stop…" she whispered, face turning bright red. "This is embarrassing…"
He pulled his hand back at once, though his own cheeks flushed. "Hearing you moan like that again is getting me excited again…"
Fiore giggled despite her embarrassment. "I didn't mean to. Truthfully… our ears are more sensitive than a female elf's clitoris."
Kaito's expression lit with delighted surprise. He filed the knowledge away carefully, then smirked and winked. "You really shouldn't have told me that, my Queen."
"Why?" she asked, curious.
"It's a secret," he answered, still smiling.
He reached up and removed his glasses, setting them on the bedside table. Fiore studied his bare face in the soft lamplight.
"Your eyes are beautiful," she said.
"They're nothing special," he replied quietly. "Nothing compared to yours." His vision was blurry without the lenses, but he found her hands and held them gently. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes again. "Fiore… I still feel like I don't deserve your love. Like none of this is real… like I'm only dreaming."
Fiore squeezed his fingers. "It is real, my love. And of course you deserve it."
He leaned in and kissed her softly, lingering. "Thank you... No matter what comes… I'll protect you with my life. I'll give you every bit of love I have. I feel so blessed."
"I know you will," she whispered, smiling against his lips. "And I love you dearly too."
They settled deeper into the covers, limbs tangled, her head over his heart, and finally drifted into sleep.
***
Morning light filtered through the tall windows of the bedchamber, warm and golden. Kaito woke first. He reached blindly for his glasses, slipped them on, and turned.
Queen Fiore lay beside him, still deeply asleep, silver hair spread across the pillow like liquid moonlight. She looked even more breathtaking this close—peaceful, soft, utterly perfect. Kaito's chest filled with a quiet, overwhelming happiness. He reached out and stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers, careful not to wake her.
I'm the luckiest man on Earth… no, in any world, he thought. And beneath the tender awe, his teenage mind added a more private, thoroughly satisfied note: He had lost his virginity to the elf of his dreams…
The memory alone made him smile like an idiot into the morning light.
He lay there watching her breathe, already knowing this moment would stay with him forever.
***
A few days earlier...
Whilst the elf maidens and nurses continued fussing over Kaito in the royal infirmary, River slipped quietly out of the mahogany doors. She already knew where Sage had fled.
Sage always retreated to the same place when the weight of centuries became too heavy.
The secret garden lay hidden behind a cascade of flowering vines at the farthest edge of the palace grounds — a small, secluded clearing ringed by ancient silver-barked trees and soft moss. Few even among the royal household knew it existed.
River found her there.
Sage sat curled on the grass, arms wrapped tightly around her knees, long dark-green hair spilling unbound over her shoulders. She was shivering despite the mild afternoon air, lips moving in a low, broken stream of words.
"…the bright light… the vessel… the same curse… it cannot be… not again…"
River approached slowly and knelt in front of her.
"Sage."
The older elf flinched hard, eyes snapping up. They were wide and glassy with residual terror.
River's voice stayed calm but firm. "Listen to me. You hurt Kaito. You slapped our future king and screamed at him like he was a monster. That was very disrespectful, Sage. Kaito has done nothing but treated us kindly and worked tirelessly to protect us all."
Sage turned her face away, shoulders hunching.
River's frustration edged into her tone. "You're lucky he is nothing like our previous ruler. If any woman had dared raise a hand against the Thorn King, he would have cut it off without hesitation."
A visible shudder ran through Sage. The name alone was enough. She swallowed hard and whispered, "I'm sorry…"
"Don't apologise to me," River said more gently. "Apologise to Kaito."
Sage's gaze dropped to the grass. Fear still lived in her eyes.
River sat beside her, close enough that their shoulders almost touched. "I need the truth. Why did you react like that when his power awakened at Southwatch? I've never seen you lose control like that. Not in all the many years I've known you."
Sage was silent for a long moment. Then she drew a deep, shaky breath.
"You cannot tell the Queen," she said quietly. "Not anyone. Not even Kaito. Promise me."
River hesitated, then nodded. "I promise."
Sage's voice came out low and raw.
"The Primordial Light is not a blessing. It is a curse that twists the minds of humans. The Thorn King was human once. The same power lived inside him. He let the darkness and the light overwhelm him until he became something immortal and monstrous through forbidden magic. That is why he cannot truly die."
She pressed a hand to her chest as if the old wound still ached.
"I am…saddened that Kaito carries it too. Sometimes I wonder if every human who steps into this world is being tested by the same cruel force. However…I am glad Kaito's power woke when it did — we would all be dead otherwise…I underestimated how dangerous that trial would become. That guilt is now mine to bear."
River listened in silence as Sage continued, voice thickening with centuries-old grief.
"I lost my first love to that same curse. His name was Rowan. A male elf. Kind. Strong. Handsome. We were together for many centuries. When the Thorn King unleashed the corrupted light across Valeria, it tore through the male population like a plague. Brothers, fathers, sons… so many gone. Rowan was among them."
River's eyes widened. She was a young elf during those dark years, still a child. River had never known all this.
Sage gave a small, tired smile that did not reach her eyes. "As you already know, River… I am the eldest of the maidens. Older even than Queen Fiore. On Earth I would be the equivalent of a thirty-five-year-old woman… though I have lived more than three thousand five hundred years and still look to be eighteen; I was supposed to be the wise one. The leader. And yet seeing that white light again after all this time… it broke something in me for a moment. I felt like a frightened teenager all over again."
River reached out and took her hand.
"I'm so sorry," she said softly. "I'm sorry about Rowan too."
"It's all right," Sage answered. "It is in the past. I need to move forward. Kaito has done nothing but prove himself worthy so far. I have faith he will succeed. I simply… did not expect the poor boy to carry the same legendary power inside him."
River nodded, still processing. "And the healing magic? He brought Cherry back from the brink of death. Aren't elves only supposed to be able to heal like that."
Sage shook her head slowly. "I don't understand it either. It is a mystery. Kaito is strange… and yet so very human."
River squeezed her fingers. "Maybe we shouldn't think too hard about this all right now. We'll face whatever comes when the time arrives."
Sage exhaled, the worst of the trembling finally leaving her body. "You're right. Thank you, River. I feel calmer." A faint blush rose on her cheeks. "I feel terrible about how I treated him. He was only trying to be kind… complimenting my hair of all things."
River giggled softly. "You'll have to face him eventually. There's no escaping it."
Sage managed a small, reluctant smile. "True, but first we recover our mana properly. We need our strength. Our king still has trials ahead of him."
River stood and offered her hand. Sage took it and allowed herself to be pulled gently to her feet. Together the two elf maidens walked back toward the royal infirmary, unaware that while they had been speaking of curses and old grief, the other maidens had already shared a far more intimate moment with their future king — and that Kaito had just experienced his first real pleasure at elven hands. More exciting new things were about to happen to their King in the coming days, nobody would have expected them at all.
The secret of the Primordial Light remained between them for now.
But secrets, like powers, rarely stayed buried forever.