The courtyard echoed with the sound of clashing wooden swords.
"Again," barked the instructor.
Illyen gritted his teeth, sweat dripping down his temple. Across from him, Cael held his stance with perfect precision - unshaken, unreadable.
"You're hesitating," Cael said flatly.
Illyen lunged forward, fueled by frustration.
"I'm measuring my strike. Not everyone fights like a statue."
Their swords collided again. Sparks of tension flared hotter than the summer sun.
High above them, Queen Marielle and Princess Emily watched from a shaded balcony.
"He's talented," the queen murmured, eyes on Illyen.
Emily nodded. "But he keeps watching Cael like he wants to knock his teeth out."
Queen Marielle sighed. "That's one way to begin a bond "
Later, in the hallway outside the armory, Illyen stormed away from practice, tossing his sword onto a bench.
He didn't expect Cael to follow him.
"I wasn't mocking you, you know," Illyen said without turning around. "That day in the garden. I didn't even know you were there."
"I know," Cael replied quietly.
Illyen paused. "
'...Then why are you still treating
me like I'm the enemy?"
Cael looked at him, something unreadable flickering in his eyes. "Because I remember things you don't."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Cael didn't answer. Instead, he stepped closer - not threatening, just... searching.
"You remind me of someone," he murmured.
Illyen's breath caught.
"Who?"
Cael gave a faint shake of his head. "No one you'd remember."
That night, Illyen sat by the window in his guest room, staring up at the stars. He didn't understand the prince - didn't understand why his words stayed stuck in his mind like a thorn.
You remind me of someone...
It felt like a key to a door he couldn't see.
Meanwhile, alone in his chamber, Cael unrolled a half-torn sketch tucked in a drawer - two boys drawn in charcoal, their smiles clumsy but bright.
Only one of them remembered that day.
And the other had forgotten everything