The knock came just after midnight.
Soft. Hesitant.
Elara sat at her writing desk, the candlelight casting long shadows across the parchment. Her journal lay open, half a sentence unfinished. She hadn't expected anyone. Not tonight.
"Enter," she said, her voice steady.
The door creaked open.
Kael stepped inside.
He wore no crown, no cloak—just a simple black tunic, his hair damp from the night air. He looked… human. Not the king. Not the weapon. Just Kael.
Elara stood slowly. "You're late."
"I wasn't invited."
She closed her journal. "You never need an invitation."
Kael's eyes flicked to the desk. "You write often."
"It helps me breathe."
He stepped closer. "What do you write?"
Elara met his gaze. "Truths I can't say aloud."
Kael nodded. "Then say one now."
She hesitated.
Then: "I'm tired of being hated for surviving."
Kael's jaw tightened.
"I never hated you," he said.
"You never loved me either."
Silence.
Kael walked to the window, staring out at the moonlit city.
"She's marrying Dorian," he said.
"I know."
"She didn't tell me."
"She didn't owe you that."
Kael turned. "I thought she would fight."
Elara's voice was quiet. "She did. But not for you."
Kael looked at her. "And you?"
"I never fought for you," Elara said. "I fought for my life."
Kael stepped closer. "You said you loved me."
"I did."
"Do you still?"
Elara's breath caught. "I do."
Kael's voice cracked. "I don't know what I feel anymore."
Elara studied him. "Then why are you here?"
Kael didn't answer.
Instead, he reached out—his fingers brushing hers, tentative, unsure.
Elara didn't pull away.
But she didn't lean in.
Kael's hand dropped.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"For what?"
"For not seeing you."
Elara turned away. "You saw what you wanted. A villain. A thief. A replacement."
Kael's voice was low. "I saw a girl who wasn't supposed to be there."
Elara looked at him. "And now?"
Kael stepped back. "Now I see a queen."
Elara was happy to hear that even if it wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear but at least he finally was seeing her, and he saw her as a queen.
---
The spring gala was approaching.
The palace buzzed with preparations—floral arrangements, imported silks, diplomatic seating charts. It was to be Seraphina's final appearance before her wedding. A farewell to the court she once ruled.
Elara received the invitation in silence.
Valeria placed it on her desk. "Her Highness requests your presence."
Elara didn't respond.
Valeria hesitated. "There are whispers."
"Let them whisper."
"She's planning something."
Elara looked up. "So am I." she wrote this story after all .
---
The ballroom shimmered with candlelight and tension.
Seraphina entered first, radiant in gold, her arm looped through Dorian's. She smiled at the crowd, but her eyes searched for Kael.
He stood beside Elara.
They didn't touch.
But they stood together.
Seraphina approached.
"Your Majesty," she said to Elara, voice sweet as poison.
"Princess," Elara replied.
Seraphina's gaze flicked to Kael. "You look well."
Kael nodded. "So do you."
Seraphina's smile faltered.
She turned to Elara. "Enjoy the evening. It may be your last as queen."
Elara's voice was calm. "Enjoy yours. It may be your last as heroine."
Seraphina's eyes narrowed.
But she said nothing.
---
Later that night, Elara stood before the court.
She had requested a brief address—unusual, but not forbidden.
Kael watched from the throne.
Lucien stood nearby, silent and steady.
Elara stepped forward.
"I have spent months learning this kingdom And understanding it very well," she said. "Its people. Its pain. Its potential."
The nobles listened.
"I was not chosen by love. I was chosen by fate. And I have accepted that fate—not with bitterness, but with purpose."
She held up a scroll.
"Effective immediately, I am establishing the Crown's Civic Council. A body of commoners, scholars, and merchants. They will advise the throne. They will speak for the people."
Gasps rippled through the hall.
Kael stood. "You didn't consult me."
Elara met his gaze. "I didn't need to."
Kael's eyes burned. "You're changing the court."
"I'm shaping it."
Lucien stepped forward. "She has my support."
Kael looked at his brother.
Then at Elara.
Then he sat. He wasn't too pleased at the fact that she didn't consult him first but he still had a little hope in her new action.
The hall fell silent.
Then applause began.
Scattered.
Then swelling.
Elara stood tall.
She was no longer waiting.
She was leading.
---
That night, Elara returned to her chambers.
She removed her crown.
She opened her journal.
And she wrote:
> Seraphina is marrying Dorian.
> Kael is unraveling.
> Lucien is steady.
> The court is shifting.
> I am no longer waiting to be chosen.
> I am choosing myself.
> The crown is not my burden.
> It is my blade.
> And I am learning to wield it.
She closed the journal.
Outside, the kingdom stirred.
Inside, the queen sharpened her pen.
---