Watching From Afar

Chapter Five: Watching From Afar

Aurelion Empire

One week later — The village

Jasmine didn’t notice him.

She was at the market, smiling as she haggled with a farmer over yarrow, laughing at something Lilly whispered in her ear. Her scarf was pulled tight, as always. Life looked perfectly normal.

But from the shadowed alley beside the bakery, Aiden watched.

He wore plain brown clothes now, boots scuffed and worn, hood pulled low over his face. The wound in his side had closed to a dull ache, but his chest felt tighter than it had in days.

Just one more day, he told himself. Then I’ll go.

He watched her tuck a stray strand of silver hair back under the scarf when she thought no one was looking. The small, automatic gesture made something twist painfully in his stomach. She was beautiful — not in the delicate way court ladies were, but in a wild, grounded way that made the air feel thinner.

Stop.

The thought hit like a slap. You can’t drag her into this. Assassins. Count Agres. Politics that swallow people whole. She’d be dead within a week.

Yet his feet refused to move.

He came back the next day. And the day after that.

Always from a distance. Always hidden.

“Your Highness,” Marcus said quietly, appearing at his side like a shadow. “We need to return to the palace. Your father is asking for you.”

"Aiden said."

“One more day.”

"Marcus said".

“You said that yesterday.”

“Then one more after that.”

Marcus sighed, voice heavy with knowing. “You’re in love with her.”

Aiden's jaw tightened. “I don’t even know her.”

“You know enough.”

Aiden's gaze stayed locked on Jasmine as she packed up her stall, waving cheerfully to Lilly before turning toward the forest, wolves trailing at her heels like silent guardians. The easy way she moved through the world made his throat ache.

“She called herself Jasmine,” he said, voice low. “But there’s something else.”

Marcus ask , “How do you know?”

Aiden's answered “Because she flinched when she said it. Like the name didn’t quite fit. Like she was hiding something precious.”

Marcus remained silent.

Aiden turned away, but the pull in his chest only sharpened. Guilt and longing twisted together until he could barely breathe.

“Find out who she really is,” he ordered quietly. “But don’t let her know. Don’t let anyone know. If Count Agres finds out I’m…. protecting someone.…”

“She’d become a target.”

“Yes.”

Aiden started walking back toward the palace road, every step heavier than the last. Halfway down the lane he stopped and looked over his shoulder one last time.

Jasmine had already disappeared into the trees, silver hair safely hidden, wolves at her side.

Aiden swallowed hard against the strange emptiness rising in his throat.

“I’ll come back,” he whispered to the empty air. “I promise.”

The words felt both like a vow and a lie.

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