'I loved Given . I loved Lyric. I loved my mother . I loved my father . I loved Cedric . I loved Hilda . I loved my grandmother. I loved my grandfather . I loved all of them . I have loved everyone that has ever been in my life and paid attention to our relationship. '
Evelyn's thoughts were a chaotic swirl, each person she cared for lingering like shadows in her heart. But amidst all that love, there was one undeniable truth—she had always felt out of place. She was never the type of princess to sit all day with a group of people, surrounding herself with idle chatter about the future. Tea parties and luncheon gossip were not for her. What she truly craved was someone who could understand her, someone to share her thoughts, her observations, her theories about the world around her.
She remembered the times when her father would take her to the military base, or when they'd visit the farm. Those moments made her feel important, valued. Even as a young girl, when her mother would sit with her and ask about her day, Evelyn would eagerly pour out her thoughts, describing the people she'd met, how she read them, how the world made sense to her. Lyric, on the other hand, had always enjoyed the simpler, quieter things—baking with their mother, going shopping. She had her own world, and Evelyn had hers.
But then, everything began to change.
Their father became more distant, withdrawn, and Cedric , took more of his attention. Evelyn wasn't jealous of that. Everyone had their time to shine. But what stung was when she realized that she could no longer trust her grandmother, the woman who had once been her confidante. Her grandmother, who had always listened with such care, was now a stranger.
She remembered the moment she had come running to Lyric, eager to share a new theory she'd uncovered , only for Lyric to stop her with a disapproving frown. "Stop running. It's not elegant at all." The words stung in a way she couldn't quite explain.
Her father's disapproval followed. He told her to stop exploring the castle, to stop going to the library where she'd hidden away, diving into its secrets. "You'll have a mentor now," he said, his tone firm, the decision final. A court lady would teach them how to be proper princesses, how to act, how to dress, how to speak. No room for Evelyn's thoughts. No room for her curiosity. She was to be molded, shaped into someone she didn't recognize.
The guards came next—always trailing behind her, always watching, not out of care, but because they had to make sure she was acting like the proper lady. Her privacy was stolen away, and her life became a performance.
It hurt when Lyric had suggested she dress up for lunch, to be a part of the things that Lyric had always enjoyed. Evelyn felt left out, misunderstood. The things that interested her—history, puzzles, mysteries—were not the things her sister or the others cared about. And when Lyric and the others would exchange looks, those quiet, dismissive glances, Evelyn realized that she wasn't just excluded from conversations; she was an outsider, a foreigner in her own home.
But then, there was a shift. A moment that brought her a glimmer of hope.
Her father had released a man from the dungeons. This was no ordinary man. Given was his name, and he had awakened at the same time the Queen of Lunareth had lost control, shaking the very foundations of the dungeons with her wrath. Given, bound to her by loyalty, had been released, and Evelyn, ever the curious soul, had found herself drawn to him.
She was intrigued by him at first, seeing him as little more than an ally, a person of mystery that she could study. She loved solving mysteries, and Given was one she couldn't figure out, no matter how hard she tried. He was a puzzle she couldn't complete.
But things changed, as they always did in Evelyn's world.
Evelyn fell ill—deeply ill—with the same sickness that had taken her mother. And there, in her darkest hour, Given stayed by her side. Despite how much she had annoyed him with her constant need to understand, to learn, to study him, Given came. And in those moments, they shared something deeper, something unspoken. They had become allies—partners in crime , in a way. But Evelyn had changed. Her heart had shifted in a way she never anticipated. She had fallen in love with him.
And now, she hated it.
She hated that her heart had betrayed her, that the love she felt for Given was not the calm affection of a friend or the loyalty of an ally. It was a dangerous, complicated love, one that made her feel vulnerable and torn. Evelyn had always loved people deeply, but this love for Given, it was different. It wasn't just love—it was something that made her question everything she had ever believed about herself, about the world around her.
And so she hated it. Because she knew it could never be.
Her heart ached with the truth of it, and yet she couldn't bring herself to turn away. She loved him, and no matter how much she wished she could undo it, she knew she never could.