It was just a crush. A small, stupid, hopeless crush. One Garren had no right to even allow. It had all started back when he was simply in training to join the royal guard. It had been a brief moment of eye contact through a window. That was all it had been, all it should've been. But oh how that mere look had unravelled him. In that brief moment it had felt as if, for the first time, he'd actually been seen. He hadn't been just another face in the crowd of trainees, glanced at for a moment and then forgotten. He had been seen.

It was inappropriate of him to even think about the prince in any way other than as someone to protect, to be loyal to and to lay down his life for if the need arose, not out of love but out of duty. But since that mere moment, he found himself thinking about the prince in ways that would certainly get him into trouble.

He would catch himself thinking about how it would feel to merely hold his hand, intertwine their fingers and feel the warmth between their palms. He would think about taking him out to the market, showing him things he'd never seen before outside of the confines of the castle which he was certain the prince hadn't seen the outside of in all of the years he'd known him. All just to see his face light up or to see that beautiful smile he dreamt about every night.

But the reality of their relationship was not as perfect as Garren dreamt. As a prince, he was only allowed to be intimate with and marry another royal or individual of high status. While Garren was favoured by the king due to his family's sacrifices in the name of the crown, he would never be allowed to have such a relationship with the prince and if it was ever revealed that he did then he would most certainly lose his head. But he didn't have it in him to care. He would risk it all just to see the prince smile, to feel his kiss, to embrace him when he needed it most. He was a man in love, and not even the threat of execution would keep him away.

Garren was always the first to volunteer for posts on the interior of the castle. While many eager individuals wanted an opportunity to impress the king at his side, most members of the royal guard wanted nothing more than to be outside. But Garren never wanted those posts. Many assumed he wanted to be around the king, earn his favour. But then Garren would request to be put on posts in the corridors of the castle, specifically in the West wing.

Today, Garren was lucky. It was quiet. The only people in the castle were a few servants, a few of the unlucky guards assigned to interior posts, and the prince. The king was absent, on a day's excursion to meet with another ruler in an allied kingdom, meaning the threat of being seen was significantly lower than usual.

The bedroom door was unlocked. Garren had been expecting that. Double checking the coast was clear, he slipped inside the room, shutting the door softly behind him with a click. As he turned, he saw the prince sitting on the window bench, the window slightly open, allowing a soft breeze to gently play with his hair as he watched the kingdom from a distance, seemingly lost in thought.

Garren quietly seated himself beside him, following his gaze out of the window to the small portion of the world beyond that could be seen over the castle walls. "You seem troubled, my love," he spoke softly, his hand gently reaching out to hold his, his thumb brushing over their knuckles in a soothing gesture. "I know it's hard watching the world go on without you..."

"But remember the promise I made to you. I will always go where you go. I will always be close to you no matter what. You aren't alone. And if one day you want to get out of here... I will do everything in my power to make that happen. Loyalty to the king be damned. I am only loyal to one man, and that is you." He spoke in a soothing tone, cupping his cheek in his free hand and turning his face gently toward him, almost as if handling the most delicate and precious thing in the world. "What can I do to help you feel better, pretty boy?"