The Vermillion Palace,

Princess Selena's Chamber,

Princess Selena sat elegantly in her chamber, her hands resting delicately on her lap as the maid carefully poured the tea into her porcelain cup. The warm scent of jasmine filled the air, calming her nerves as she gazed out the window, lost in thought.

A soft knock at the door pulled her from her reverie.

“Selena, it’s me,” came the familiar voice of Crown Prince Kael.

“Come in,” she answered, her voice steady yet distant.

The door opened, and Kael stepped inside with his usual confident air. His eyes quickly landed on the tea set in front of her. “Are you drinking tea?” he asked, making his way toward her.

“Yes,” Selena replied, offering a gentle smile. She turned to the maid standing by and said, "Serve the Crown Prince as well."

The maid quickly obeyed, pouring the steaming jasmine tea into a cup and placing it carefully in front of Kael. When he took a sip of the tea, he paused, his brows furrowing slightly. 

“It tastes different,” he commented, setting the cup down gently.

Selena’s lips curled into a knowing smile. “That’s because only Leticia can make good jasmine tea.”

Kael chuckled, his expression softening. “I agree. No one can match her skill in that, it seems.” He looked at her then, his tone shifting as he asked, “So, is she coming?”

Selena’s smile faded slightly. She looked down at her cup, swirling the tea gently before answering. “I haven’t received any reply from her yet.”

Kael raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair. “Did you send her an invitation?”

Selena nodded, a trace of worry crossing her features. “Yes, I did.”

For a moment, there was silence between them, broken only by the soft clinking of the cups as the maid finished her duties and quietly left the room. Kael exhaled and crossed his arms, his tone turning pragmatic. “It’s better, isn’t it?”

Selena’s gaze snapped to him, confusion evident in her eyes. “What do you mean?”

Kael leaned forward, his eyes meeting hers. “It’s better she doesn’t come. You know what will happen. After seeing Lyria, she’ll start bullying her again and create chaos. It’s always the same with her.”

Selena’s smile slowly faded, replaced by a deep sadness that darkened her eyes. She bowed her head slightly, her gaze fixed on the steaming tea, as if seeking comfort in its warmth.

"I don’t know what to say," she murmured, her voice fragile, barely above a whisper. Her fingers tightened around the delicate teacup. "She changed... she changed a lot."

The weight of her words lingered in the air, pulling Kael’s attention away from her and out toward the window. His expression grew distant as he stared at the sky, his mind wandering to a memory from long ago—a time when they were both children.

                                                                                  ***

Flashback Begins,

The Vermillion Palace,

Garden, Night,

In the moonlit garden, a much younger Kael, barely eight years old, rushed through the tall grass under the night sky, his small hands clutching a bundle of freshly plucked flowers. The stars shimmered above him as he hurried, excitement filling his heart. He spotted Leticia, just six at the time, sitting on the stone bench by the fountain, her legs swinging as she hummed a little tune.

"Leticia!" Kael called, his voice bubbling with enthusiasm. He bounded over to her, grinning wide. "I brought you something!"

Leticia tilted her head curiously, "What?"

Kael extended the flowers towards her. "I brought these for you!"

Leticia had stared at the flowers for a long moment, her young face inscrutable in the soft moonlight. Just as Kael thought she might smile, she had suddenly reached out, twisting his ear sharply.

"Ow! What—what did I do wrong?" he groaned, clutching his ear as he looked at her, bewildered.

"You plucked flowers, now?" she asked, twisting his ears.

"yeah. I thought the flowers were beautiful! I picked them because they would suit you." kael said, groaning in pain.

"Didn’t you see? It’s nighttime, silly!" she scolded, her brows furrowing as if he’d broken some sacred rule. "You should never pluck flowers or leaves at night! Don’t you know? They sleep during this time, just like we do!"

Kael, still wincing, blinked in confusion. "The flowers sleep?" he asked, incredulous, rubbing his sore ear.

"Of course!" Leticia insisted, crossing her arms after finally releasing him. "You can’t just disturb them like that. They need rest, too." She huffed, turning her nose up at him, her childlike indignation somehow both amusing and endearing.

"I see, I’m sorry," Kael muttered, feeling a bit chastised.

But Leticia wasn’t satisfied. She pointed to the small bouquet in his hand, her expression serious beyond her years. "No, say sorry to those plucked flowers," she commanded, arms crossed over her chest in a way that only a six-year-old could manage—stern yet innocent.

Kael blinked at her again, then glanced down at the wilting blooms. Hesitant but knowing he had no choice under Leticia’s watchful eye, he sighed. "I’m sorry, flowers."

Leticia’s stern expression softened ever so slightly, but she still huffed, turning her nose up at him. "Good."

As Kael watched her, standing there with all the fierce authority of a tiny queen, he couldn’t help but find her indignation both amusing and oddly endearing. Her concern wasn’t for herself but for the flowers, something so small yet precious in her eyes.

"I will never pluck flowers at night," Kael finally said, raising his hands in mock surrender. 

Leticia nodded, satisfied at last, her childish righteousness intact. Then, just as quickly as her scolding had begun, she smiled, her small hand reaching out to gently touch the petals of one of the flowers. 

"Thank you for bringing them, though," she said in a softer voice. "They’re still beautiful, even if they’re sleepy."

And with that, the moment of tension between them melted away, leaving Kael with a strange fondness for the girl who always seemed to know what was right, even at such a young age.

End of Flashbcak.

                                                                                                ***

Back to Present,

Princess Selena's Chamber,

Kael blinked, the memory fading as he returned to the present. The faint smile that had briefly touched his lips during the recollection slowly disappeared, replaced by a somber expression. He leaned back in his chair, staring at the tea in his hands as if it held the answers to the questions swirling in his mind.

"You're right," he mumbled, his voice soft and tinged with melancholy. "She really changed a lot."

Selena glanced up at him, her own sadness reflected in his eyes. The room felt heavier now, the weight of the past and the uncertainty of the future pressing down on both of them. Kael sighed, looking out the window, his thoughts lingering on the girl who had scolded him over flowers, who had once been so full of life and conviction. 

What had happened to that version of her? What had caused the change? He wasn’t sure if he would ever truly know.

The grand hallway of Drakemorne Mansion stretched out before Leticia, dimly lit by the late afternoon sun filtering through the high, arched windows. The soft padding of her slippers on the marble floor was the only sound that accompanied her as she walked away from the waiting room, where she had just severed her engagement with Adarain Varemount.

Her steps were slow and measured, each one feeling heavier than the last, as though the weight she had carried for so long was still clinging to her, refusing to let go. But as she reached the large pillar at the center of the hall, she stopped. Her hand, pale and delicate, reached out to touch the cool stone, steadying herself.

She closed her eyes, leaning ever so slightly against the pillar, and let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. The air rushed out of her lungs in a deep, shaky sigh, as though the suffocating tension that had wrapped around her heart for years had finally begun to unravel.

"Finally," she whispered to herself, her voice so soft it barely broke the silence of the hallway. Her lips trembled for a brief second as she swallowed the emotions that had threatened to surface back in the waiting room. "I… let him free."

Her fingers tightened slightly against the pillar, as if seeking reassurance from its solidity. For a moment, the carefully maintained mask of cold indifference she had worn inside the waiting room cracked, revealing the uncertainty beneath.

"I did right... didn’t I?" she murmured, her words filled with the quiet doubt that gnawed at the edges of her resolve. 

She opened her eyes, staring blankly ahead, lost in thought. The decision to let him go, to finally stop fighting for something that had never truly been hers, had taken everything she had. And now, standing here in the quiet emptiness of the hallway, she wasn’t sure whether she felt relief or grief.

Leticia walked slowly toward the grand window, her steps light and quiet on the floor. She closed her eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply. When she opened them again, she looked out at the vast, empty sky—a canvas of fading blue, devoid of clouds or birds. The emptiness stretched on endlessly, a mirror to the hollow feeling inside her.

 No fluttering wings, no whisper of a breeze. Just stillness.

"Just like me," she whispered, her voice barely audible. 

The words felt strange on her tongue, as though she were speaking them to a version of herself she didn’t quite recognize anymore. She had changed—or rather, she had been given the chance to change.

Her eyes remained fixed on the barren sky as she spoke again, quieter this time, as though she feared the silence would swallow her words. "I still can’t believe... I came back."

The weight of the thought pressed on her. It was a truth so impossible and so surreal that she almost doubted her own memory. How could she have been here before, lived through the heartache and the betrayal, and then somehow returned? The time before her fall, before her family's disgrace—it was all here, now, within her grasp again.

"Is that even possible?" she asked herself, her breath fogging the glass slightly as the question left her lips.

But there was no answer. The world around her seemed to pause, as if waiting with bated breath, just as confused as she was. The room, the house, the sky—they all fell silent. Even the usual distant rustle of the evening wind through the trees was absent. It was as though time itself was holding its breath, unsure of how to respond to her question.

Her mind wandered, sinking into the deep pool of thoughts she had tried to avoid. If this was real, if she had indeed been given another chance, what would she do differently? Would the outcome still be the same? Or could she alter her fate—the fate of her family?

The silence deepened around her, pressing in, and she exhaled slowly, as though finally coming to a conclusion.

"This time," she mumbled to herself, her voice laced with determination, "I don’t want love or attention. I won’t chase after fleeting things like before."

Her grip tightened on the window frame, knuckles turning white. The sky remained unmoving, but something in her heart stirred—a resolve she hadn’t felt before.

"But," she continued, her voice steady now, stronger, "I won’t let my brothers or father bow in front of anyone because of me. Not again."

The weight of her vow hung in the air, unspoken promises tied to the past and to the future. Leticia felt the fire reignite in her chest, the same fire that had once been extinguished when she had lost everything. This time, she would do things differently. She wouldn’t let herself be weak; she wouldn’t let her family suffer the way they had before.

With a final glance at the empty sky, Leticia pulled herself away from the window. The stillness outside remained, but inside her, there was motion, a rising current of defiance and strength.

Whatever brought her back, she would not squander it. She had been given a second chance, and this time she wouldn’t fall.