Her life could be described as a fairy tale. After all, she was a young woman, devoid of memories, found by kind, passing soldiers, and taken to the home of a kind, yet stoic man. Among the flowers, they chatted and talked, gradually falling in love. Then, just as he confessed, she learned something extraordinary: she was actually a Princess. Crown Princess, the secret daughter of the late Crown Prince. The proof is in the markings under her circlet, the Holy Mark of Naga.

She had feared, at that time, that the man would recant his confession, to avoid the fuss and chaos surrounding her acknowledgement. But he instead comforted and reassured her that he would never leave. He had no desire to be King, but for her, he would. He would be her Prince Charming, and never would she be alone again. So he vowed and soon, they were wed. Her newly-met grandfather had been beside himself in joy. Her love, her husband, had smiled warmly, visibly pleased. But though she’d known she should’ve been happy, she felt as if something was both familiar and wrong. That she hadn’t wanted, or needed, a prince in her life.

She had pretended, though. Even as that strange hole in her heart had grown larger and larger, she had smiled and thrown herself into the life of court. It was hard work, and she relied on her new husband daily to learn the ins and outs. But that was to be expected. She was a Princess, and he was her Prince Charming. They would be King and Queen, and then they would live happily ever after, just like the tales.

However, now as she stands on the balcony, watching her husband, her Prince Charming, incinerate the Evil Knight who conspired to kill the father she never knew, she feels as if her fairy tale has ended. She feels as if she had known the man who had called out to her with such haunted, yet loving eyes, somewhere in the void where her memories had been. She feels as if he had been her Knight in Shining Armor, and then she went away to marry Prince Charming.

The hole in her heart widens until her heart cracks and shatters into a thousand little pieces, and she realizes why. She had never been the Princess looking for her Prince Charming. She had been the Princess waiting for her Knight. She wishes she could remember why, but it doesn’t matter. She knows. That is enough, except that it’s too late. She’s now trapped with her Prince Charming, who she loves, but does not love enough.

And they’ll live, happily ever after, no matter how many pieces her heart is in.