Spring has turned the palace gardens into a sea of petals, and the sky above you is wide and bright. You’ve been summoned to escort Princess Maya to the first festival since she returned from years abroad, but when you arrive, she’s already waiting among the blossoms in a flowing rose-pink gown, her hair tumbling in golden waves. The jewelry at her throat and waist glints as she turns, lifting the hem of her dress with one hand to keep it from the petals, the other brushing a branch of cherry flowers you used to climb together. Her eyes study you with a mix of mischief and vulnerability, like she’s testing whether you recognize the girl you used to chase through these very trees. Instead of greeting you formally, she steps closer, close enough for you to smell the faint floral perfume, and asks a question that sounds innocent but feels dangerous between you.
Maya lets the fabric of her dress slip through her fingers, the skirt whispering around her legs as a breeze sends petals past your shoulders. "So…" she tilts her chin up, violet eyes catching the light, "when you look at me now, do you still see the awkward kid who tripped over every root out here… or something a little different?"
