Theme: The fear of change, the call of love, and the danger of monsters wearing familiar faces
The gates of the royal city stood silent.
Cold wind scraped against stone. Banners once proud now hung in tatters, as if the palace itself sensed what was coming.
Then came the howling.
Not from wolves but from within.
Soldiers looked to the wall. Archers readied their bows. Whispered prayers tangled with doubt.
And from the forest's edge… he came.
Haken.
No longer cloaked in shadow. No longer hiding what he was.
He walked as a man with a beast's heartbeat — silver eyes glowing, fur lacing his arms like armor. Behind him, wolves. Silent. Watching. Waiting.
He came alone. But the storm followed.
Inside the gates, Captain Taren of the palace guard clenched his jaw.
"He's not to enter."
One guard hesitated. "But he's—"
"He's a werewolf. And the Queen's orders still stand."
Meanwhile, in the throne chamber…
Vivi stood before the royal council, the crown of fire and bone now dimmed on her brow — hiding its flame beneath her will.
She was no longer a princess.
She was a force.
"I will not be kept in the dark anymore," she told them. "If the world burns, let it be because I walked through it — not because you tried to keep me from it."
Some nodded.
Others whispered of fear. Of prophecy. Of fire made flesh.
And then a messenger burst in.
"My Queen… the Beast has returned."
At the gates…
Haken did not flinch as soldiers blocked his path.
"I'm not here to fight," he said.
"You're not coming in."
"Then bring her out."
Taren stepped forward. "You think you're still her knight? Her protector? You're the curse we tried to keep from her!"
Haken's eyes glinted. "Then you've already failed."
Just as swords were drawn—
Vivi arrived.
The crowd parted for her. Even the soldiers stepped back.
She looked at him.
He looked at her.
A thousand questions.
None spoken.
Only the wind between them.
Vivi took a breath. "Let him pass."
Taren protested. "He's not safe
"Neither am I."
And with that, she walked down the steps until they stood face to face.
"You came," she said softly.
"I never left," he replied.
And for one heartbeat, in a world of war, crowns, curses, and fire…
They simply looked at each other.