She met with her father, her aunt, and all the people who worked with her on the flood recovery efforts. She didn’t expect to see the Delegate, her arrival was a surprise. She entered her drawing room with big pink daisies. She stood stock still in the doorway before dropping them and running to give her a hug.

“I’m so sorry, I know this is not proper decorum at all, but I was so scared when you came back unconscious!” the Delegate said. The Princess hugged her back.

“I’m so glad to see you,” she said. “I wanted to talk to you.”

She motioned to her maid to bring the broach the Delegate had given her.

“Did you know that this is full of mana?” she asked.

The Delegate shook her head. “I’m sure you know my country is completely unfamiliar with mana.”

“Plants have a natural mana and this has way more than it usually would. I’m not sure what this means, but it’s utterly fascinating. I could tell when I used my powers that it was giving me a little help. It might have made my crash after a little less dire,” she said. “I wonder if something like this could have saved my mother.”

She blinked back tears. The Delegate placed her hands over the Princess’s. 

“I know this is a major breakthrough and could mean so much for both of our countries, but I’m concerned about you,” the Delegate said. “You just woke up after being passed out for days and you’re already trying to shoulder diplomatic duties. I came here just to see you.”

The Princess smiled and hugged her again. She hoped that no matter what their countries chose to do, the Delegate could remain in her life.

She couldn’t get away from prying eyes until the evening. Her Knight seemed to know her little fantasies well without her saying anything. He entered her room and lifted his cape and she grinned. She loved the idea that once she was under his cape she could “disappear.” She pressed her forehead against his back. She felt safe and secure being so near him. Once they were away from the castle, he made sure she was wrapped in a warm blanket and carried her off into the woods. They weren’t going too far, just to a lake she usually frequented when she ran away from her classes. It was beautiful under the moonlight. He sat down and she sat next to him. They were silent for a while.

The Princess had always been curious what it was like to be empathic like him. She had basic human empathy (her father said she was empathetic to a fault like her mother), but she couldn’t literally feel people’s feelings. What was that like? She turned her eyes up to him curiously. She wanted to ask so many questions.

“Go ahead,” he said.

“What?”

“You want to ask about something.”

She sighed. “No use hiding it…”

He chuckled and smoothed her hair. “Nope. So just ask.”

She drew her knees to her chest.

“What is it like to be empathic?” she asked.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“How to explain…”

She watched him carefully. “You’re scared to tell me something about your powers aren’t you?”

He sighed. “Your aunt told me that the longer you and I were together, the stronger my empathic power would become specifically toward you. So you can’t hide much from me. You are trained to block most empathic people, but because you and I are so close and our mana resonates, you would need specialized training to be able to effectively block me from getting impressions from you.”

She flushed. “So…then…”

“I know a few things I’m not sure you want me to know,” he said.

She buried her face in her hands. “I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry about what?” he asked.

“You must know how I feel.”

“We established that I can deeply read most of your emotions, you have to be more specific.”

The Princess was going to cry. “You know how I feel about you.”

She was afraid to look at him. She always knew he had some idea, but for some reason being faced with the reality of it felt humiliating. He gently moved her hands away from her face and lifted her chin to look at him. Her eyes darted up to his for a moment and she immediately felt shy. His expression was no longer playful.

“I want to give you the dignity of telling me,” he said.

She shook her head and tears filled her eyes. “I’m so sorry, I burdened you for so many years…you had to endure all my feelings…I wanted to handle it all alone…”

He shushed her.

“Please look at me when I say this,” he said. It took some time, but she managed to look him in the eyes somehow. “I can feel other people’s feelings, but I always know exactly how I feel. Your feelings only affect me because I…I love you.”

He steadied her, she felt faint.

She weakly tried to push him away, but her hands were shaking. “Maybe…maybe you only love me because–”

“No. Many people have been in love with me before, none of their feelings affect me like you. It is only because I return your feelings.”

He kissed the inside of her wrist. She was trembling with joy and she was trying not to cry harder.

“You know how I feel, but can I say it?” she asked.

He cradled her hand against his cheek. “Please, I want you to.”

“I love you. I love you so much. All I want is for you to love me too.”

Her Knight pulled her into his embrace and she felt a wonderful sense of calm. Did he know he made her stronger?

“Yes I do.”

Did he know that she lived to hear his voice?

“Yes, I know that too.”

She giggled and snuggled against his chest.

“I will work hard to try and let you know my feelings too,” he said. “But we have to be careful. I’ll hold back less, but we can’t be together just yet.”

She sighed. “I know. I can wait. Except…”

They met eyes. She didn’t need empathic powers to know what they both wanted. She leaned closer to him, their noses just touched and she paused.

“Um…I’m sorry I didn’t ask you…Is a kiss okay?”

“Yes, please,” he said, his voice dreamy and quiet. Their lips met quickly and softly at first, but that was not enough. It was electric and addicting and she wanted more. Their lips met over and over, soft and quick, but she threw her arms around his neck. The next kiss was longer and lingering. They pulled away just a little, but they were still in each other’s arms.

“Is this too much for you?” she asked.

“No, this is fine,” he said.

“I want a little more.”

“A little more won’t hurt.”

She had imagined what his lips would feel like and no amount of imagination could compare. She was bold and gently bit his bottom lip. He shivered and hugged her closer.

“B-be careful…” he said.

“Was that bad?”

“Ah…It actually was a little too good.”

It was her turn to smirk. “So I can get to you too, huh?”

“You get to me all the time. The force of your love makes me so weak.”

“Lies. You always seem so composed.”

He held her hand to his chest. His heart was beating so fast, she was almost shocked. “I am barely holding myself together at all times. I am not nearly as strong when it comes to resisting you.”

“How long have you been in love?” she asked.

Her Knight kissed her forehead. “So long. Almost since the day we met.”

“Haha, me too,” she said. “But you might have known that already.”

They both were quiet, just enjoying each other’s warmth and embrace.

“You want another kiss,” he said. She nodded. “You want a deeper kiss, don’t you.”

“Please?” she asked and fluttered her eyelashes just a bit.

He pressed his forehead against hers.

“Every time you look at me with those wide eyes and bat your lashes like that, I want to do whatever you ask,” he said. “Use that power sparingly.”

She felt the shift in the mood, from playful to something more intense. He ran his fingers through her hair with one hand and held her waist with the other. The kiss started gentle like it had before and she parted her lips for him. He kissed the corner of her mouth before going further.

“Relax, I’ve got you,” he said. She squeaked a little at the feel of his tongue against hers. Strange, but not unpleasant. He was considerate, not forceful at all, she was clumsy at this, but she tried to respond as best she could. It didn’t last very long, it was a lot to take in. That was good for her, but there was no way that he enjoyed that kiss. She opened her mouth to apologize but she was surprised to see that he had flushed completely red.

“That was a lot for me…when we kiss like that, your feelings are overwhelming. I need to get used to it,” he said. “I still can’t believe I mean that much to you. I can literally read your emotions and it still feels too good to be real.”

“I don’t understand how anyone could feel this way about me,” she said.

“Anyone would love you.”

“You know that’s not true.”

He kissed her hands. “Let’s not worry about anyone else loving you but me.”

She melted into another hug.

“Ah…Princess,” her Knight said. “Look around us.”

She looked at their surroundings. Hundreds of tiny blue white flowers had bloomed and glowed in the moonlight. She touched one of the petals.

“You should be proud. You are the person who makes me so happy that flowers bloom wherever I go,” she said.

He pulled her in for a soft kiss, which made flowers vine up the trees, it was so tender and soft.

“I hope I can keep making you that happy,” he said. She hardly expected to have a whirlwind romance (though she wrote one at least once a week). Here she was being carried through a moonlight forest, a trail of glowing flowers in their wake, in the arms of the most handsome Knight in the land, who was utterly devoted to her. They stole quietly through the castle, bringing her safely back to her room.

“I will see you in the morning, Princess,” he said. She placed her hand on his chest.

“Please…one more kiss?” she asked. She batted her lashes, exactly as told her not to. He chuckled and kissed her. Her body was a flutter with just that kiss, it felt like there were petals in the air. Her eyes widened, there were petals in the air. He chuckled and kissed her forehead.

“We’re gonna have to work on that,” he said. “I love you so much. Try not to stay up all night making up stories about us in your head.”

She huffed but couldn’t hide her smile.

“No promises.”

The Princess had her back against the tree. Because more people knew about her powers now, it was safe to practice in the open. So she was in a nearby park near the palace releasing measured pulses of mana. No one knew the extent of her power, so they were unaware she could heal (which she was doing, curing very minor ailments and injuries of any her mana could reach), but they would be looking for revived plants and the like. It was nice to be regarded with a little more respect.

She could feel his approach before she even opened her eyes.

“I’m not coming back yet,” she said.

He sat beside her.

“Well, you need to come back to the castle grounds at least,” he said.

The Princess frowned. “Why? You can’t drag me to etiquette class, it's long over.”

He raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“I didn’t say you needed to go to class,” he said. “There is that one nice, quiet spot in your garden, and from what I understand you still need to practice keeping your powers under control when feeling emotional.”

She blushed and bit her lip to keep her smile from getting too big.

“I’ll return with you,” she said. He helped her stand and took his arm. To all the onlookers, they were a proper princess and a proper knight, he was dedicated to her. They would never know that she was dedicated to him in return, their devotion was deeper than their respective roles. For right now she was content with heated, stolen kisses, lingering embraces, and long talks. Their love was equal parts light and sweet and deep and overpowering. Once within the palace gates, he switched to holding her hand. She would do anything to protect this man. He kissed her forehead.

“No. I’ll protect you first,” he said.

“This is going to be a never ending debate,” she said. She was scared to say this outloud, but she hoped she was right, that they’d keep arguing over who got to protect who for the rest of their lives. Maybe someday they could hold hands proudly before their people and present themselves together as a couple, a team. That was someday, a story they’d write together.