A young woman begins a secret romance that feels like love because it gives her things she has never had before: companionship, intimacy, and a private life apart from her father. She learns to share herself with someone her own age, to hide meetings from the king, and to treat her lover as the brightest part of an otherwise dark world.

The relationship intensifies quickly, and the young woman decides she wants to have sex with him. They meet in his room, where desire overwhelms her nervousness. At first, the encounter is tender, and the young woman believes she is experiencing profound pleasure and closeness.

The moment turns when the young man grows rougher and ignores the young woman’s hesitation. After he scratches her and blood appears, his behavior changes further as bloodlust overtakes him. His kisses become painful bites, his teeth sink into her throat, and even when the young woman tells him to stop, he either does not hear or does not care. Realizing she may die, she seizes a silver candelabra and strikes him hard enough to escape.

Shaken, bleeding, and heartbroken, the young woman flees without looking back, even as her lover calls after her. Because her home feels dangerous and she has nowhere else to go, she runs to her father’s room. The king lets his distraught daughter inside, wraps her in a blanket, listens as she recounts what happened, and quietly wipes the blood from her throat. After hearing her story, the king makes an important decision that the young woman does not yet know.