Selene laughed, a laugh filled with frustration, a mix of sarcasm, and a touch of anger.
"Of course. A threat. There's always a threat. There's always a reason to lock me up in this golden cage." She complained.
Kael didn't respond. He only raised an eyebrow slightly, seemingly assessing whether the danger outside was more pressing than the woman he was supposed to protect.
"So, what do you mean?" she asked, taking a step closer. "Are you going to follow me even to the bathroom? The closet? To—"
"Only as far as necessary," Kael replied quickly, firm and unwavering. "And if you want to hide, Princess… you'll first need to learn how to walk in the dark."
Selene stopped.
It wasn't just advice.
It felt… personal.
She tilted her head, her eyes narrowing with curiosity. "What about you, Kael? Can you hide? Or are you more used to... hiding?"
For the first time, a faint reaction appeared on the Kael's face. Not a smile. Not anger. Just a fleeting shadow of emotion that disappeared as quickly as it came.
"I'm not here to talk about me," Kael answered, walking away. "Let's go. It's cold here."
But with every step he took, Selene felt the weight of his presence.
Sharp. Silent. Observant.
And beneath that cold exterior… she knew he was hiding something.
And she was dying to know what it was.
The garden fell back into silence. But inside Princess Selene's mind, an idea slowly began to bloom—full of impatience, attraction, and a hint of rebellion.
Kael was too calm. Too serious.
And honestly?
Too tempting to tease.
If he stays quiet beside me for the rest of my life, I swear, I'll lose my mind. Let's see just how strong he really is when I start testing his patience...
She started walking away slowly. Pretending to be calm, Pretending to be interested in the flowers, the ivy-covered trellis, and the marble statues that seemed to pity her boredom.
Kael kept a close but discreet distance. He didn't keep up, nor did he fall behind.
"Hm..." Selene smiled to herself. "Perfect."
Then she ran.
A soft laugh burst into the air, like a child finally free from its cage.
"Catch me if you're really a bodyguard!" she shouted, holding onto the hem of her expensive gown so she wouldn't trip.
She was barefoot now—faster, lighter, freer.
She ran through the edge of the maze, a green labyrinth of tall hedges that she used to hide in when she was a child.
She didn't look back at Kael, but she felt him there. Every brush of the wind, the subtle shift in presence, the world around her telling her: you're not alone.
She laughed louder.
Let him chase me. Let him sweat a little.
"Come on, soldier boy! Don't tell me you're getting tired?"
Still silent. No footsteps. No answer.
That's when she got a little frustrated.
Seriously? Not even a breath? He's not even surprised?
Selene quickly turned right and entered the maze. The hedges stood about six feet tall, winding, tight, dark. Only the light from a few gas lamps cut through the darkness, casting an almost mystical ambiance in the shadows.
She kept running... but slowly, her pace began to falter.
Not because of fatigue.
But because...
There was no sound.
No footsteps.
No Kael.
She stopped at an intersection in the maze, glancing left… then right…
"Kael?" she called, trying to fight off the growing anxiety.
No answer.
She tried to laugh it off.
"Okay, fine. I win. You're boring anyway."
But when she turned the next corner,
Kael stood right in front of her. No panting. No dust. No signs of running.
He was like a ghost suddenly emerging from the dark—silent, but his presence was as solid as a wall, firm and unwavering.
Selene took a step back, a curse escaping her lips. "Oh my god! Are you a freaking ninja?"
Kael didn't move. He didn't smile.
"This isn't a game, Princess," he said, his voice cold, but beneath it, there was a controlled anger. "You could die if you keep acting like this."
Selene froze, as if hit by a cold wave. She wanted to speak, but found herself unable to. Not because she didn't have anything to say, but because of the intensity of his gaze—sharp, heavy.
It wasn't just professional.
There was something personal behind Kael's eyes, a hidden wound, a pain he could no longer hide.
Kael took a step forward, slow, as if every movement carried weight.
"Have you ever seen how they kill a princess, Selene?" Kael's voice dropped, almost a whisper. "They don't shoot them in front of the palace. They don't shout at them. They watch them laugh, run... and then they strike them from behind."
Selene swallowed hard. She wasn't used to hearing Kael speak like this. No jokes.
No cheer. His words felt like a brutal truth landing on her, a truth that was painful and unavoidable.
There was a wound behind Kael's eyes, a memory he couldn't bury, yet one she could feel deeply.
Questions scrambled in Selene's mind. Who was Kael before he became a bodyguard? What kind of life did he have to speak like this? Wasn't he afraid of revealing it all?
Kael looked away for a moment, his jaw tightening, as though holding himself back.
"I'm not saying this to scare you," he added, his voice almost a whisper now, heavy with weight. "But I can't protect you if you keep putting yourself in danger."
Each word Kael spoke carried a burden. Sometimes, Selene felt like he was carrying something long-held, something he couldn't let go of. There were eyes he was hiding from, emotions he was burying, and wounds he couldn't show.
But that wasn't what Selene saw. She saw a man who wouldn't give up, a man who bore pain but still fought—not for himself, but for others.
"Sorry," she said softly, almost inaudibly. "I was just... bored."
Kael nodded once, not looking back. "Get used to it. Boredom is better than death."
As Kael slowly walked away, Selene could still feel the weight of his presence lingering behind. His words were too deep, too heavy to shake off.
It felt too heavy, as if there were a secret being desperately kept hidden.
Standing alone in the middle of the maze, an unfamiliar sensation pressed against her chest. It wasn't fear. It wasn't anger. Nor was it irritation. It was an intrigue, a curiosity that couldn't be contained anymore.
Who exactly was Kael? What remnants of his past was he too guarded to show her? And what if there was a darker side to him—one that he couldn't escape?
The night was quiet. The air was cool, with a hint of mist from the fountain, Selene's favorite spot whenever she needed a brief escape from the suffocating silence of the palace.
This was where she used to hide as a child, playing make-believe, wondering what it would be like to live as an ordinary person—no ball gowns, no protocols, and most of all, no guards.
Now, years later, she found herself here again, sitting on the edge of the marble fountain, barefoot, wearing the expensive gown now adorned with bits of grass on its hem. The last droplets of dew fell from her hair, and the breeze carried the cool scent of earth and leaves, blending with the serene stillness of the night.
Kael stood silently, a few meters away. He didn't speak, didn't move. He was like a shadow, always present yet unseen, always alert, always ready.
Selene picked up a small stone from the side of the fountain and tossed it into the water. The sound was faint, quickly swallowed by the darkness of the night. It had little effect, much like the feeling she had in the palace—a wave that went unnoticed.
"Don't you ever get tired of standing like that?" she asked, not looking at him. "You're worse than a gargoyle."
Kael didn't respond.
She turned to him with a smile on her lips, but even though her smile was there, there was a trace of worry in his eyes. "Relax, I'm not going anywhere."
Suddenly, Kael's expression shifted.
From being emotionless, his eyes turned sharp. It was as if he had heard something—something at a frequency that an ordinary person couldn't pick up. He remained standing, but his body had become tense, every muscle alert, focused on every movement around them.
Selene blinked, trying to assess his reaction. "What are you looking at?"
Kael didn't answer right away. He kept his gaze fixed, his eyes as if mapping out the darkness, calculating, searching for patterns, observing signs that Selene couldn't see.
The silence between them seemed to stretch for a moment. The breeze, usually gentle, brushed against Selene's skin like a cold caress from the darkness, carrying with it a sense of unexpected danger.
After a few seconds of stillness, Kael spoke. His voice was low but steady, carrying an unspoken threat, each word heavy with meaning.
"Something moved."
Selene's lips curled into a smile, amusement flickering in her eyes. "God, you're really paranoid, aren't you?" She glanced in the same direction, but saw nothing. "It's just a cat."
But Kael didn't laugh. He didn't smile.
Instead, the furrow on his brow deepened. His eyes were scanning, searching for any unusual movement in the surroundings—the shift of shadows, the subtle change in the air.
Slowly, he reached behind him and pulled out a small comm scanner, the only piece of equipment hidden on his body.
"Kael?" Selene asked, her tone now laced with concern. This wasn't her usual teasing question, but one filled with unease. "What's happening?"
He remained silent, but the tension in the air was unmistakable to Selene. She stood and moved closer to him, her eyes filled with questions, with worry.
"Hey. Seriously... what is it?"
Kael spoke, but he didn't look at her. His voice was heavy, edged with an unexplainable tension, as if a hidden danger loomed behind his cold tone.
"Someone's watching us."
This wasn't just another evening at a gala. It was a warning.
And she had no idea who held the cards in the darkness.
The surroundings were eerily quiet. Too quiet.
The cold breeze no longer felt like just a chill. It was as if a storm was coming—not rain, but danger.
The garden of Arvenia Palace now resembled an ancient painting, beautiful at first glance, but with shadows lurking in every corner, secretly watching.
Selene stood beside Kael. Suddenly, a wave of unease and fear crept into her heart from his words.
""If anyone wants to harm you, they won't show themselves... not unless it's time to strike."
Before she could respond, a sharp sound broke the silence—not just a noise, but a warning that seemed to coincide with the chilling breeze, as though it was sucking everything around it.
In an instant, a sharp arrow sliced through the air, a black streak tearing through the darkness. It moved so fast that the human eye could barely catch it—like a shadow passing by before she could even take a breath.
Followed by the sharp whistle of the wind, the arrow's tip struck the hard wood, only inches above Selene's head. Small pieces of splintered bark fell gently landing on her shoulder. It was a split second, but she could feel the chill of danger that almost brushed her skin.
She gasped, the intense thrill of fear crawling through her body. It was as if time had stopped for a moment, her body frozen in place while her heart raced uncontrollably.