Chapter 2

Seizing the moment when Winston was distracted, I stepped into the mysterious circle of light before he could stop me. They called it an array.

The instant I entered, a blinding white light flashed. I was standing, yet it felt like I'd suddenly fallen into an endless abyss, my vision growing hazy.

The shouts around me sounded distant, as if coming from miles away, but Winston's voice rang out clear above all else. "Zora! Zora!"

The scene before me shattered into a shower of light, then reformed into scenes from long ago, shimmering like a rippling silver ribbon, growing brighter and brighter.

I stared at the blurry figure in the white light, softly calling out in my heart.

I was coming to find Nelson.

Everyone's life had been graced by a gentle moon, its soft light wrapping around them, shining on all their days to come.

The year I met Nelson, I wasn't yet the princess of the Silverpeak Kingdom. Back then, people just called me Zora, a blind girl with no name or family.

It was the twelfth year of the Era of Luminance, the first month. Heavy snow blocked every road, and the borderlands of the Vermillion Kingdom were drowning in plague. In a remote border town, nearly a hundred people died in just one month.

My foster mother sent me out to buy medicine, but every shop was closed. I returned empty-handed, only to be abandoned in the snow, left to fend for myself after catching the plague.

The snow came up to my knees, and the cold seeped deep into my bones. I thought I'd become nothing more than a handful of earth beneath the snow, but someone dug me out and placed me by the fire.

"What's your name?" the man asked.

His voice was crisp and refined, like the sound of jade pieces clinking together, and the breeze carried a subtle hint of medicine.

I opened my eyes, but all I saw was darkness. I replied softly, "Zora."

A gentle breeze seemed to brush past. He muttered, "Still blind, huh," but there wasn't a hint of contempt in his tone.

"I've caught the plague. You should keep your distance, or you might catch it too," I said, my voice trembling as I curled up.

The plague was vicious. Everyone avoided it like the devil. But he just smiled faintly. "It's nothing; it can be cured."

He handed me a warm water bag. The warmth seeped through my frozen skin, settling deep in my chest.

"How should I address you, kind stranger?" I asked.

He hesitated for a second, then gave a gentle smile. "Nelson," he replied.

He found a wandering healer who happened to be passing by the border and asked him for medicine to cure the plague. Nelson even set up a tent to treat the sick, saving countless lives in that little town.

When the sickness finally faded, a whole year had gone by. Nelson told me he wanted to take me to the palace of the Silverpeak Kingdom; the king was searching for his lost daughter, and I happened to fit the description.

We spent more than half a year on the road together. In the daytime, we'd explore the wilds, mountains, rivers, and all the wonders of nature.

Nelson would take my hand, patiently telling me where the hills rose, where the water flowed, and when the first peach blossoms opened. At night, he'd tuck me in carefully, making sure I wouldn't roll off the bed.

"Nelson, I really don't want to be a princess," I said, feeling more and more uneasy the closer we got to Silverpeak.

He gave a lazy smile. "No can do. There's a bounty of a hundred silver coins waiting for me."

"Are you that desperate for cash?" I asked.

Half-asleep, he mumbled, "It's not about the money. I can't have a kid tagging along forever. What would people think if she saw me like this? Sending you back to Silverpeak is just... because of the old days..."

He fell asleep before he could finish.

Later, I joined the royal family of Silverpeak, was acknowledged by my birth parents, and became Princess Zora. Nelson, meanwhile, became an honored guest in the palace.

The palace servants whispered that Nelson was barely in his twenties, handsome and refined. Even my haughty older sister, Lillian Ralph, would soften her voice whenever she spoke to him.

Lillian liked Nelson, so she hated me all the more. She told me I was only brought back because she needed someone to take her place in a marriage alliance with the Vermillion Kingdom, and that was why our parents went through all that trouble to find me.

Only then did I realize that my return was just so I could be married off four years later.

For those four years, Lillian kept picking on me from the shadows, but Nelson always caught her and stepped in to help. He'd get really mad at me every time. "Zora, you're way too soft. You'll suffer for it someday," he'd say.

So Nelson stuck around the Silverpeak palace, watching over me until the day I left for my arranged marriage in the Vermillion Kingdom.

Those four years were the safest and most carefree time I ever had.

He taught me how to read; even though I was blind, he'd patiently read every word out loud, making sure I didn't miss a thing. When we went horseback riding, he always kept me safe, holding me close in front of him as he guided the reins.

No matter the season, whether we were surrounded by blooming flowers or listening to waterfalls from a pavilion, he'd paint every scene for me with his words, letting me experience the beauty through his eyes.

Sometimes, I'd stumble and end up in his arms; he'd instinctively pull me close, but as soon as he realized, he'd gently push me away and clear his throat, a little embarrassed.

I couldn't help but think maybe he liked me too.

When the four years were up, I didn't want to go through with the marriage alliance. My mother said Lillian had been spoiled rotten and couldn't possibly enter the Vermillion palace.

"But I'm blind," I protested softly.

"The Vermillion Kingdom can cure your blindness," my mother replied.

"How do you know? You've never even been to the Vermillion Kingdom," I said.

"Nelson told me," she said.