[ARCHIVED] Heart Thief

The Deal

Silver crossed his arms anxiously, shivering from the cold hitting any of his exposed fur on the castle's rooftop. As a result, he had to stay up from morning until evening in order to prepare for her journey. He also had to do whatever she needed to do in order for the plan to work. The princess made the plan sound super critical in order for her marriage proposal to get cancelled.

It was a stupid idea, that's all he know.

His only mistake was that he did not expect the princess who is well known for her intelligence in battle and her fierce strength in martial arts, as well as the head of the knights, and the only one he had looked up to for her charisma to agree to such an agreement to begin with.
Perhaps the princess had a valid reason for agreeing to do so. If this is what Blaze wants, he knew he couldn't do anything to stop her.

Even when they were children, everyone would tell her she was a child full of wonder; always curious about anything ahead of her and trying new challenges every day to get better. It was fortunate for her to have a father who allowed her to try so many things. One of them was allowing her to be friends with commoners like him. It wasn't interesting to get to know him better, and he knew that.

He couldn't fit in anywhere. He often spent his time alone deep in the forest. He was delighted in playing with the gift of nature that nature has to offer to a helpless child like him. He would not say he had any sad childhood memories. He spent most of his time researching wildlife and herbs since the forest was the closest to his home.

He was grateful to everyone around him, he really is. When he was a child, his family was kind to him. The shopkeepers were friendly, and even the restaurant owner where his family ate often allowed him to draw on the walls because he was irresistibly cute.

Most of the time, he doesn't have a friend that he can rely on.
That was the moment Blaze came up to him during lunch at school, noticing him picking clovers alone on the school field. She asked him what he was doing, and from there she started picking with him when he told her it was for his journal, becoming his friend afterwards.

Before long, he learned that she was the princess of the kingdom. He could hardly believe that he had become friends with such royalty, let alone admiring her in secret before he even knew himself. He was told that Blaze didn't seem to like the idea of being known for her family's reputation. She instead wanted to continue to discover what was hidden behind the castle's walls.
And just by doing that, he grew fond of her more than any other person in the whole world, though he would never admit it out loud. The only way anyone could tell how he felt about her was by watching him smile at her. Or they could hear him gush whenever she praised him for something he did. It was obvious to the world, but his feelings turned a blind eye to Blaze.

He had tried to tell her the truth for years, but he couldn't. He was too much of a coward to believe that a princess would return a commoner's feelings back. He could already imagine the hideous look from everyone. The look of judgement towards his reputation as a mere citizen, and a loss of respect for Blaze if they ever get together.

He was aware of the rules.

"A royalty must never fall in love with someone lower than herself."

He understood it, and he respected the rule. It did not matter how many times he replayed the exact phrase in his head whenever he thought about Blaze, he could never stop himself from falling deep for her more and more. Now that he is Blaze's royal advisor, he could feel his heart dying day by day.

But now his life depended solely on what Blaze decided. And after the betrothal, their friendship would turn sour and eventually die, which meant he could never meet the love of his life. If the plan turns out to be a failure, and Blaze is confirmed to be wed to Prince Shadow, then his life would be ruined before his eyes.