Almi's POV
"Almi, listen to me carefully. I am no longer the Rahina you all knew in the palace. I came from what I call the modern world, and there, I died. That is why there is no way for me to return to the future anymore. It is complicated, but that is the simplest explanation I can give."
My full attention was locked onto Rahina as she spoke, as if the entire world had narrowed down to just the space between us.
"I came from the future," she continued. "My theory is that the body I am in now already died, but some kind of magic happened and I was placed into it. I do not know what happened to the original soul of this body. If none of this makes sense to you, then I understand. But I am telling you this clearly, I am not the Rahina you used to know."
A part of me wanted to reject everything she was saying. It sounded impossible, something pulled from a dream that should not exist in reality. And yet, as I watched her speak, there was no hesitation in her voice. No cracks of deception. Only certainty.
I stood there frozen.
In that silence, memories began to resurface without permission.
Rahina, smiling softly as she once walked beside me through the quieter corridors of the palace garden. Rahina, speaking about strange ideas that no noblewoman should have known. Rahina, sitting near me when the weight of my title became too heavy to bear.
My chest tightened.
"Almi," she said again, softer this time, pulling me back. "I love you. I am not asking for your answer right now, but I hope you will not deny me the chance to stay by your side through joy and sorrow. I love you in the only way I know how. So please, do not avoid me just because you heard this."
I could not answer immediately. My thoughts felt scattered, like broken glass scattered across a floor I could not walk on safely.
When I finally spoke, my voice was quieter than I intended.
"I am sorry, Rahina. I do not have the answer you are looking for. You are a close friend to me, and I… I do not see you as a lover. To me, you are like a sister."
The words felt heavier than steel.
I looked at her directly as I said it.
Her eyes trembled, glassy with unshed tears, but she did not look away.
"I will wait," she said. Her voice broke slightly, but she forced it steady. "I will wait until you fall for me too, Almi. If it is right for me to cry, then I will cry, but I will be okay afterward. Even after hearing your answer, please do not avoid me."
I did not know what to do with that kind of persistence. I did not know where to place it inside my world.
So I said nothing.
And silence became the space where everything between us quietly shifted.
Days passed after that conversation, but something in the palace air felt different. It was as if the corridors themselves had become colder.
We did not meet as often.
At first, I told myself it was natural. People drift apart after difficult conversations. Especially when truths are exposed that cannot be easily placed back into silence.
But Rahina's absence was not complete. It was not clean.
It lingered.
Like a shadow that still existed even when the body had moved away.
And I hated that I noticed it.
I hated that I was always aware of where she might be at any given moment.
I hated even more that I found myself unconsciously walking routes that would pass near places she usually went.
It was as if my body had memorized her presence even when my mind refused to acknowledge it.
No one knew that I was the prince of this kingdom.
To everyone else, I was simply a servant inside the palace. A disguise I wore carefully, one that allowed me brief moments of freedom from the suffocating expectations tied to my birth.
Rahina had been the first person who treated me like a normal human being in this place. Not as a symbol, not as a title, not as a future ruler.
Just Almi.
Someone she laughed with. Someone she argued with. Someone she shared silence with when words were no longer necessary.
She never knew my real identity. That secret was something I kept buried beneath layers of performance and obedience.
That was my escape. My only breath of air inside a palace that demanded everything from me.
And now that same person had confessed feelings I could not return.
It should have been simple. But nothing about it felt simple.
"Hey. Are you still there?"
Her voice cut through my thoughts like a hand pulling me out of deep water.
I blinked.
Rahina was standing in front of me, her hand slightly raised as she waved it near my face, trying to get my attention.
"Oh," I said quickly, straightening my posture. "Yes."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"You looked like you were somewhere far away," she said.
"I was not," I replied too quickly.
She studied me for a moment longer, then shrugged as if deciding not to push it further.
"Anyway," she said, shifting her weight and crossing her arms casually, "now you know everything."
I nodded.
That was all I could manage.
Inside my chest, something felt tight, like a string pulled too hard and left ready to snap.
She leaned slightly closer, lowering her voice as if sharing something dangerous.
"So we are okay, right, Almi?" she asked, tapping my shoulder lightly. "Just a reminder, do not tell anyone about this. This is a serious secret."
I nodded again.
But my expression betrayed me. I could feel it. I was not as composed as I wanted to appear.
Rahina tilted her head.
"Why do you look like the sky fell on you?" she asked.
I immediately looked away.
"I do not," I said.
"You do," she insisted. "Your face is strange."
"I am fine," I repeated.
She stared at me for a few seconds longer, then sighed and waved her hand dismissively.
"Alright, fine. Let us finish what is left of this drink so we can head back," she said, gesturing toward the bottle we had been sharing earlier. "Tavik still has something to discuss with me about renting a room."
I nodded silently.
"Tavik should probably explain the terms properly first," I said, trying to sound normal. "I am not fully familiar with how housing works for palace employees."
"I will ask tomorrow," he replied casually.
The conversation should have felt normal.
But nothing about me felt normal anymore.
We finished the remaining drink in silence that felt heavier than words. The kind of silence that did not feel peaceful, but instead felt like something unsaid pressing against both sides of a door that refused to open.
When the bottle was finally empty, Rahina stretched her arms slightly and stood up.
"Alright, I am heading out," she said. "We split here then."
Tavik had already stood earlier and left in another direction, his footsteps fading into the path that led back to his home.
Rahina turned slightly, ready to leave, but then paused as she noticed I had not moved.
"You are not going home yet?" she asked.
I hesitated. Then I shook my head.
"Not yet," I said quietly. "I will leave later."
She studied me again, her expression softening slightly.
"Alright," she said. "Take your time then."
She turned away.
For a moment, I thought she would leave without another word.
But then she stopped again, glancing back over her shoulder.
"Hey," she called.
I looked up.
"If you are going to stay here alone, do not overthink things too much," she said lightly. "You always get that face when you are thinking too much."
A faint smile touched her lips.
Then she waved. "See you."
And just like that, she walked away.
Her footsteps grew quieter until the forest path swallowed them completely.
I stayed where I was.
The night air felt colder than before.
I lowered myself onto a nearby wooden bench, one that was slightly worn from age and weather. My hands rested loosely between my knees, but my mind was anything but still.
Why did it feel like something inside me was breaking?
Why did it feel like I was the one left behind?
I tilted my head back slightly, staring at the dark canopy of trees above.
Rahina.
The name echoed in my mind again and again, refusing to settle.
Somewhere far from here, she was probably already walking back toward the quarters, laughing lightly with whoever she met along the way, pretending that everything was normal.
Maybe for her, it already was.
But for me, nothing had returned to normal.
And I was not sure it ever would.
The silence around me deepened as the palace lights in the distance flickered faintly through the trees.
I stayed there longer than I intended.
Not because I had nowhere to go.
But because I could not yet convince myself to leave the place where she had just stood a moment ago.