Adonis looked at Daphne with his deep eyes, as if reading every letter in her notebook. Then he sighed deeply and began to narrate in a quiet voice, tinged with a hint of sadness: "I will tell you a story, Daphne. A story of days long gone."
Daphne froze, waiting silently, while expressions of curiosity and concern flickered across her face.
"A long time ago, while I was living with my mother in a poor neighborhood, far from the palace and everything related to power and influence, I believed I would spend my life in that darkness. Illness was consuming my mother day by day, and the light in her eyes was fading. One day, when her illness worsened, she looked at me and said in a voice barely audible: 'You are the Emperor's son.'"
His words stopped, and astonishment appeared on Daphne's face, while Adonis continued in a low voice, filled with longing: "At that time, the Emperor had no place in my life. I thought she was joking, or that her illness had made her delirious. I couldn't believe it, and I didn't dare to believe that those words could change everything in my life."
Daphne placed her hands on her heart, as if feeling the weight of his words, as if sensing the depth of the suffering of this man standing before her, with his serious gaze and his heart burdened with secrets.
Adonis added, slowly raising his eyes towards her: "But it was the truth, Daphne. The truth that held within it more than just a title; it meant that I was living in two opposing worlds... the world that knew only pain, and the world to which I never belonged, even though my blood flowed through its corridors."
A moment of silence hung between them, as if the air had frozen. Daphne, her eyes filled with pain and sympathy, wrote with a tender hand: "And you, how did you feel about all that?"
Adonis replied in a quiet voice, but filled with resolve: "I was searching for my identity, Daphne. And I thought I would find it in the place I didn't dare to enter... in the palace, where everything seemed distant, another world I couldn't reach."
A small smile touched Daphne's lips, as if she saw something in him she hadn't seen before: hope, even in the darkest moments.
While I was striving with all my might to get medicine for my mother, the world around me was dark, shrouded in a silence that sent chills down my spine. There was no one to help me, as if I were trapped in a maze with no exit. I was very young, and it was hard to believe that the Emperor could be my father, but fate had other plans.
One evening, when Yarwa and I stole a loaf of bread, hiding in a dark corner behind some old walls, silence surrounded us as if we were in a separate world. I didn't know that day would change my life forever. At that moment, while we were burning with hunger, the sound of luxurious carriage wheels echoed on the broken pavement, and it stopped before us as if defying the darkness.
A man dressed in fine clothes stepped out; his features were familiar to my eyes, even though I had never seen him before. He looked at me with a gaze I couldn't decipher, then said in a quiet voice, though something powerful lurked beneath: "Come, I want you to come with me."
I couldn't stop myself from looking at Yarwa, who was sitting beside me, his black hair tangled by the wind, and his eyes reflecting a sincere loyalty I had never found elsewhere. He was my only friend in that harsh world, who never abandoned me, despite our hunger and the cruelty of the days. I looked at the man who asked me to come with him and said slowly, in a voice barely audible: "I can't... I can't leave him."
The man's expression changed for a moment, then he nodded and smiled a mysterious smile. "Alright, then come with him."
That was the first time I entered the palace, amidst the candlelight that danced on the walls as if welcoming our arrival. Yarwa, who accompanied me every moment, sat beside me nervously, but remained as steadfast as a rock. It was as if we were entering a new world, a world we didn't belong to, but we were in it, unable to escape.
From that moment on, my journey began as the youngest trainee in the army, with Yarwa, who remained my friend, my support, and my brother at all times, in a world teeming with soldiers, power, and secrets.
"Daphne..." he uttered her name in a faint voice, but it was charged with emotion. "You know, success wasn't just a ladder I climbed. Every step on it carved a painful memory into me... their words were sharper than swords."
He hesitated for a moment, then continued:
"They called me a traitor... someone who didn't deserve his place. They questioned my belonging, even the legitimacy of my existence. They said I was just a shadow, and that my mother... a traitor. Can you imagine? That your very existence becomes a matter of doubt?"
Daphne's hand trembled slightly as she wrote:
"How did you bear that?"
Adonis read her words, and his gaze grew warmer despite the pain he concealed. He moved closer to her until the distance between them was almost nonexistent, and said in a low voice, but filled with sincerity:
"Because I believed the truth was within me, not in what they said. But the pain taught me to be stronger... to climb that ladder even though they tried to break it beneath my feet."
He looked directly at her, his blue eyes burning with emotions difficult to interpret. He continued in a warmer voice:
"But even the strongest hearts sometimes break. In those dark nights, I would sit alone, as if the shadows of their words were chasing me. Yarwa was always with me... reminding me that I wasn't alone."
Daphne stopped writing, and instead slowly raised her hand and placed it on his hand resting beside him. She felt the warmth of his skin, and when their eyes met, there was something in hers that gave him the peace he had always lacked. She wrote in her notebook slowly this time, then held it up to him:
"But you are not alone now, Adonis. I am here."
He read the words, and an expression appeared on his face that made her heart flutter. It wasn't just thanks or gratitude, but an implicit acknowledgment that she had become an inseparable part of his soul. He took her hand in his, and gently ran his thumb over her fingers, as if wanting to memorize their touch.
"Your presence..." he said in a faint voice, almost a whisper. "Your presence is what makes all that suffering worthwhile. You are more than just someone beside me, Daphne. You are the light I need when everything else fades."
Her face flushed with obvious shyness, but she didn't pull her hand away. Instead, she raised her eyes to his, as if challenging him to complete what was in his heart. He moved closer, until their breaths mingled, and whispered in a voice barely audible:
"Every time I look at you, I feel like I didn't climb that ladder alone... as if you were there, waiting for me at the top."
Daphne smiled, and a naive yet shy expression touched her features, but she didn't move away. On the contrary, she let her head tilt slightly until it was close to his shoulder. Adonis slowly raised his other hand and placed it on her cheek, touching her skin gently as if it were the most precious thing in the world.
"With you, Daphne..." he whispered, his eyes speaking more than his tongue could express. "I feel like I have everything."
At that moment, all sounds in the room faded away, except for the quiet crackling of the fire. There was an unspoken promise between them, a promise that this moment would be the beginning of something bigger, something that words alone could not describe.
"I noticed you didn't take Yarwa with you in the last war."
The Emperor's words came in a deep, majestic tone as he sat on his golden throne, adorned with the carefully carved symbols of the empire. A faint ray of sunlight filtered through the high window, reflecting off the armor Adonis wore, drawing gleaming lines on his black military uniform.
Adonis, standing as straight as ever before his father, relaxed his shoulders slightly and replied in a quiet but firm tone: "I didn't want to expose him to danger, Your Majesty. He is not just a dog to me... he is my companion."
The Emperor raised an eyebrow slightly, and a ghost of a smile appeared on his lips, as if the answer was not enough to satisfy his curiosity. His fingers, heavy with rings set with precious stones, tapped lightly on the armrest of his throne as he said: "That reason seems logical, but it's not the only one... is it?"
Adonis felt a chill run through his chest, as if the Emperor's words had uncovered something he had been trying to bury. His blue eyes, holding a mixture of hardness and longing, avoided his father's gaze for a brief moment.
The Emperor continued in a less harsh but still weighty tone: "I looked into the matter, and in doing so, I discovered something interesting... it seems you are hiding something from me, my son. You have a beloved."
Adonis's eyebrows rose for a fleeting moment, as if shock tried to seep into his features, but he quickly regained control of his expression. He raised his head slightly, then said in a quiet but emotionally charged voice: "Your Majesty..."
The Emperor interrupted him in a tone that combined seriousness and affection: "Why didn't you tell me? My son, I would have been happy to know. In fact, I would have liked to meet her. Nothing pleases me more than seeing someone who truly cares for you."
The Emperor's words seeped in slowly, as if piercing through all of Adonis's defenses. He turned his face slightly towards the window, where the sunlight reflected off the swords hanging on the walls, then said in a deep voice as if it came from a heart weighed down by emotion: "I didn't tell you... not because I wanted to hide her, but because I wanted to protect her."
He turned his gaze back to his father, who was watching him in heavy silence. Adonis continued in a voice that seemed to tremble under the weight of the truth: "Our world is harsh, Father. Anyone associated with me becomes a target. And I couldn't put her under that burden."
The Emperor, whose features were tight but whose eyes held a hint of understanding, sighed deeply. He placed his heavy hand on the armrest of the throne, then said in a warmer tone: "I understand what you're saying, but love, Adonis, is not a weakness. It is the strength that makes us resist everything."
A moment of silence passed between them, in which the echoes of the past and present intertwined. A rare smile touched the Emperor's lips, and he said in a lighter tone: "Perhaps it is time for me to see that strength that made you leave Yarwa behind. If she is of such importance, then she must deserve her place here... beside you."
Adonis felt the weight of the words as if it were an invitation to face something greater than war, something that required a different kind of courage.
He said in a quiet voice, but one that carried the tone of a leader accustomed to having his orders carried out without hesitation: "Then continue. Today at noon, I want to meet her. Your beloved."
Adonis froze for a moment. The thought that his father knew about Daphne struck his heart with a mixture of anxiety and surprise. The words caught in his throat, but he gathered his courage and said in a quiet but respectful tone: "My Lord, I didn't want to involve her in this world... this world that could put her in danger."
The Emperor, raising his eyebrows slightly, smiled a smile that held a mixture of cunning and kindness. "I understand that, but I want to see her with my own eyes. If she is the one who managed to steal the heart of the Imperial Army's commander, then she must be special."
Adonis wasn't sure if this was a compliment or a challenge, but before he could respond, the hall door suddenly opened, and Empress Amivira entered with confident steps. She wore an elegant emerald dress, and her bright eyes scanned the hall as if she owned everyone in it.
She said in a firm, cold voice: "Who is this you are talking about?"
The Emperor looked at her calmly but did not back down, saying confidently: "Adonis's beloved. I will meet her today."
The Empress froze in her place for a moment, then let out a short, unwarm laugh. "I see things happen without my knowledge. But no matter, there is something more important. Tomorrow is Helibor's wedding, and everything must be perfect."
The Emperor raised his hand, interrupting her gently but firmly: "Amivira, nothing is more important than this now. Daphne will come today, and I want to meet her. And tell Helibor to be present as well."
Shock appeared on the Empress's face, but she quickly hid it behind her usual mask. She looked towards Adonis, who was standing beside his father, and said coldly: "I hope this girl is worthy of what you intend to reveal today."
She left the hall with quick steps, leaving a palpable tension in the air.