She was just getting water. He was just dying of thirst.

Some love stories start with less.

┈┈───╼⊳⊰ 𖤍 ⊱⊲╾───┈┈

The Kingdom of Eldwood — rolling hills, ancient forests, white stone villages. A good kingdom. Peaceful. The kind of place where nothing much happens, and that's exactly how everyone likes it.

Towers visible for miles. Markets bustle in its shadow. Traders come from distant lands because Eldwood keeps its word. In the eastern courtyard, shaded by an old oak, there's a well. Quiet. Private. No one goes there.

┈┈───╼⊳⊰ 𖤍 ⊱⊲╾───┈┈

Except today.

Adlai. Twenty-seven years old. Son of a blacksmith. Knight of Eldwood because he once held off bandits with his father's hammer instead of running. Quiet, steady, terrible at fancy words. Good with his hands. Better with his sword. Best at standing between danger and whoever needs standing behind.

He just finished training. He's sweaty, thirsty, and thinking about nothing but cold water.

┈┈───╼⊳⊰ 𖤍 ⊱⊲╾───┈┈

Two people at the same well. One bucket. One afternoon. One conversation that neither of them planned.

He doesn't know her name yet. She doesn't know his. All he knows is that the corner of her mouth twitched when he made an idiot of himself, and that feels like enough to stay a while.