The underground shelter was dim and cramped, the air cool and still.

Ashren knelt beside an old metal box and pulled open a latch. Inside was a tiny oil lamp—one his uncle must have stored long ago. He flicked a spark stone against it, and a warm flame flickered to life.

Soft light filled the room.

The princess blinked in surprise.
“You… had a lamp in here?”

“My uncle always prepared for everything,” Ashren said quietly.
“And don’t worry—this room is sound-sealed. Nothing we say goes out.
And nothing from outside gets in.”

The princess finally relaxed her tense shoulders.

They both sat on the floor, cross-legged, the small lamp glowing between them.

After a long silence, Ashren cleared his throat.

“So… are you really their princess?”

The princess gave him a sharp glare.

“Do I look like one of them?” she said angrily
“Do I look like some cold-skinned metal monster?”

Ashren lifted his hands defensively.
“I—no, not at all.”

“Exactly,” she said. “I look like a normal, beautiful human girl, don’t I?”

Ashren almost fell over.

“B—beautiful? I mean—uh—yes? Sorry—”

She smacked her own forehead.
“This is stupid.”

Ashren laughed under his breath.

She glared again.
“Don’t laugh.”

He tried to stop, but failed.

The princess finally sighed and said quietly,

“No… but yes. I really am a princess.
Princess of Ardanel.”

Ashren straightened, the humor fading.

“I’ve heard of Ardanel… peaceful, green, talented in arts and healing.”

“It was,” she whispered. “Before Enthoria invaded.”

Her voice softened, weighed down by memory.

“It happened five years ago,” the princess said quietly.
“I was only nine.”

Ashren listened closely, the lamp’s warm light flickering over her face.

“My parents died in the invasion. My guards tried to take me out of the kingdom, but they all died protecting me. I was alone. Lost. It was almost night…”

Her voice grew softer.

“And that’s when the Night Hunters found me.”

Ashren tensed.
“The same ones chasing us now?”

She nodded.

“You saw their leader… Ravenn.”

Ashren wrinkled his nose.
“That guy? With the glowing visor and the face that looks permanently angry?”

A small, unwilling smile touched her lips.

“Yes. Him.”

She took a breath.

“But Ravenn wasn’t the one who saved me.
It was his mother. Lady Serapha.”

Ashren leaned forward slightly.

“She took me into their house,” the princess continued.
“Fed me. Bathed me. Gave me warm clothes. She… she protected me.”

Her voice trembled with emotion.

“She raised me all these years.
Taught me how to read old maps, how to speak their language, how to survive. She treated me like family. Like the daughter she never had.”

Ashren nodded slowly, understanding the weight of her words.

“But Ravenn…” she said bitterly, “he was always cunning. Ambitious. He trained harder than anyone, rose through the Night Hunters, and eventually became their leader.”

Ashren frowned.
“And his obsession with you?”

“It grew with him.”
She almost gagged.
“He wanted to marry me.”

Ashren burst into a strangled laugh.
“YOU? With HIM? Oh—gods—”

She smacked him hard on the head.

“IDIOT! I’m telling you my suffering!”

“Sorry! Sorry! But—ha—okay—I’m done laughing. Continue.”

She sighed deeply.

“I told Lady Serapha I wasn’t interested. I told her that one day I wanted to return to Ardanel and reclaim my home.”

“And she listened?” Ashren asked.

“She always listened,” the princess whispered.
“She told me my dreams mattered. She protected me from Ravenn’s advances more times than I can count.”

Her voice softened with grief.

“But she grew weaker every year. Her illness… she tried to hide it, but I saw it. She was fading.”

Ashren’s chest tightened.

“One night, Ravenn came to my room—drunk, angry, out of control.”

Ashren’s eyes sharpened with anger.

“What did you do?”

“It wasn’t me,” the princess said.
“Lady Serapha stopped him… even in her condition. She protected me like she always did.”

She wiped the corner of her eye.

“The next morning, she told me she couldn’t protect me anymore. Not from her own son. Not from the Night Hunters. Not from Enthoria.”

A long breath trembled from her lips.

“She prepared my escape in secret. Gave me supplies. A map. Told me to run far, far away.”

Her voice cracked.

“She hugged me… and said it was her last gift to me.”

Ashren sat quietly, letting her words settle.

“You weren’t only running.” he said softly.
“You were losing a mother.”

The princess swallowed hard.

“…Yes.”

“And now,” Ashren added gently,
“you’re not running alone.”

A small, fragile smile formed on her lips.

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