Rowan finally left Freya’s room. He had watched the girl move from anger to blush, shame, and annoyance. He couldn’t get enough of looking at her face; she just made a part of him melt, but still made him want to tease her for it.

It all started when he saw her arguing with her father and also showing love. It was the first time for Rowan. He grew up on the streets of Avon until he was caught stealing and then thrown in as a slave in the palace. Since he was young, they made him serve the Crown Prince. The royal family of Galgani was the first family he saw, though he met the former Queen, Adric’s mother. The woman was very kind to him, and she was the reason they became friends.

Adric was Rowan’s first and only family. Though there was duty and loyalty involved, Rowan still took Adric as more than just a master he served; he saw him as family too. And since it was his only family, young Rowan vowed to serve Adric until the death of him. He risked his life just to make sure Adric stayed alive, the one who gave him a reason to continue living. Adric never looked down on him or reminded him of his bloodline.

Over time, people forgot how Rowan entered the palace. Some even thought him to be the son of a renowned minister because of the way he laughed and played with the Crown Prince. He was even the only person who spoke to Adric casually and got away with it. When King Fidelis married another woman, Rowan and Adric were just young boys. They witnessed Gwen change so many things in the palace; the peace and love everyone enjoyed when Queen Charlotte was alive vanished, replaced by hatred and jealousy.

Rowan wasn’t sure if having a family was a good idea. So he started living freely, thinking it wasn’t worth it to have a family that would eventually join hands to kill you. Then Freya and Louis arrived at the palace. At first, Rowan had no interest in the girl; he could tell from the first time he saw her that she knew absolutely nothing about life.

Just another shielded young girl, ignorant of how evil people could be. When Princess Jasmine had asked him to take care of Freya, Rowan wasn’t interested. The girl wasn’t going to be a problem. Or so he thought, but as they continued to stay in the palace, he noticed her.

The first time was when she broke her leg in the woods during the hunting game. Rowan noticed how the girl didn’t want anything to do with him, and it wasn’t his problem since a lot of people didn’t like his personality, and he didn’t care. Then the second time was when she caught him with Jasmine in the library. The little mouse that didn’t want to be seen by anyone always had a way of courting trouble. She doesn’t even try, and yet trouble finds its way to her.

That was Freya. Rowan’s attention finally shifted to the girl. He noticed how she was always lost in her own world, and he didn’t know what she was thinking. Freya doesn’t talk too much with others, but with her father, she even raised her voice. Rowan wanted to know why. He wanted to know what made her laugh, cry, angry, and excited.

As time passed, Rowan found himself even more drawn to Freya when she started taking care of Kai and Walter. It softened something inside of him. The girl took care of the boys more than their own mother, and she always smiled whenever they were around.

Seeing her do that made Rowan want to have his own family, a thought he’d never had before, since he never thought it was worth it. Freya and Louis would play around and still shout at each other, yet they were ready to die for each other. It was the first time Rowan was seeing such family love. And for the first time, he wished to have his own family. A safe space with people he could trust.

He knew he shouldn’t have placed his paw on the girl. She was just too pure for someone like him. But then Freya went ahead and judged him. A thought came to Rowan’s mind: why not show her that she wasn’t as perfect as she thought? Just because she was sheltered by her father and given the best life doesn’t make her better than others. That was the plan, Rowan’s only plan, but he went too far. He touched her, not once, but more than twice and now he didn’t want to let go.

Making his way outside the palace, Rowan rubbed his fingers together. The girl wasn’t just innocent on the outside; she was the same on the inside. Soft and untouched, only to be touched first by him. And he wanted to keep it that way.

Rowan stopped in his tracks when he sensed a person’s presence behind him. He didn’t turn his head; he just stood there for a moment before moving to the next palace wing.

The person who had been following him ran out, looking around the palace with a worried look.

"Looking for me?" Rowan appeared behind the young prince. "Do you have something you need to tell me?"

Prince Gerald gulped. He had actually been following Rowan, but he didn’t expect to be caught like that.

"I—uh..."

Rowan sighed, taking a step forward. He dipped his hand inside the boy’s pocket. "You’re too young to be smoking this. I’ll be keeping it."

"I’m not young!" The prince took a step back from Rowan’s intimidating height. "I’m old enough..." His voice trailed off.

Rowan’s eyes moved from the contents he took from the boy and settled on him. Judging by his look, he was either younger than Freya or just the same age.

"Mm. If you say so." Rowan nodded, turning to leave the passage when he heard the prince speak.

"I mean it! I’m not a child. I’m almost the same age as Lirien, just a few days apart," the prince argued, looking down at his feet.

Rowan raised his brows, not quite understanding what to do with the information. He nodded. "Oh, that’s great... I guess? Your mother did a great job, then."

"No! I’m trying to tell you that I like Freya!" Gerald fumbled with his hands, biting his lips before saying the next words. "Stop swaying her when you know you don’t love her!"

Rowan frowned, now turning his body fully. He stared at the prince with deep interest.

"I know you don’t love her. Y-you just want to hurt her and leave her all alone. I won’t let that happen," the prince stuttered. When Rowan moved his leg forward, the boy backed away, almost losing his balance.

Rowan continued walking closer. He saw the boy instinctively raise his hands in defense. When Rowan stopped in front of the prince, he straightened the collar of the boy’s shirt.

"If you’re going to protect someone, do it confidently." He patted the boy’s shoulder, then gave him a sweet smile.

As Rowan was about to leave, the prince shouted, "Freya deserves better! She’s done nothing wrong. Leave her alone to find better men. Y-you should be around people like you..." When Rowan didn’t stop walking and continued down the hall, Gerald added,

"It’s an order from a prince! Just because you’re a mere guard doesn’t make you one of us. Remember your place."

Rowan didn’t stop walking, though he heard everything the boy said. He just smiled, waving at the young prince without turning around.