The sixth year had begun.
For Edward, those words carried a weight that no ordinary year could carry.
Six years.
Six years since he had stood before King Adrian and promised to serve the crown.
Six years since he had said goodbye to Princess Evelyn.
Six years of difficult journeys, dangerous assignments, sleepless nights, and sacrifices that had tested everything within him.
And now, only one year remained.
One year stood between Edward and the promise he had carried in his heart since the beginning.
One year stood between him and Princess Evelyn.
Whenever he thought about it, his heart filled with both excitement and uncertainty.
He had survived everything the king had demanded.
He had faced danger.
He had endured loneliness.
He had resisted temptation.
He had remained faithful.
Yet the final obstacle was no longer the service itself.
It was the royal law concerning Princess Lilian.
Edward knew nothing about the council’s recent decision.
He did not know that King Adrian had already begun considering what would happen if Lilian remained unmarried.
He did not know that the elders had decided that he might be required to marry Lilian if she remained unmarried when his service ended.
Edward knew only what he had been promised.
Seven years.
Complete the service.
Earn the king’s approval.
Then marry Evelyn.
That promise was enough to keep him moving.
The sixth year was harder than Edward expected.
His body had become stronger through years of service, but strength did not mean that exhaustion disappeared.
Some mornings, he woke before sunrise with every muscle aching.
Some evenings, he returned from his duties so tired that he could barely remove his boots.
Yet whenever fatigue threatened to overcome him, he remembered Evelyn.
He remembered the first time he had seen her in the royal garden.
He remembered the sound of her laughter.
He remembered the way she had looked at him when their love was still new and uncertain.
Most of all, he remembered her promise.
I will wait for you.
Those words became his strength.
He whispered them to himself whenever the road became difficult.
“She is waiting.”
And then he continued.
One night, after a particularly exhausting day, Edward returned to his quarters.
He placed his sword beside his bed and sat down.
On the small table was the latest letter from Evelyn.
He had not yet opened it.
He stared at it for several moments before carefully unfolding the paper.
“My beloved Edward,
Six years.
Can you believe we have come this far?
Sometimes I still remember the day you left.
I thought seven years would never pass.
But now only one year remains.
I keep imagining the day you return.
I imagine seeing you at the palace gates.
I imagine running toward you without caring who is watching.
I imagine finally holding you without having to say goodbye.
Please keep yourself safe.
I am still waiting.
Your Evelyn.”
Edward read the letter several times.
He smiled.
Then he placed it against his chest.
“One year,” he whispered.
He closed his eyes.
And that night, he slept.
He was standing in the royal garden.
But it was different from the garden he remembered.
The flowers were brighter.
The sky was golden.
The air was warm.
Then he heard footsteps behind him.
“Edward.”
He turned.
Princess Evelyn stood there.
She was wearing a simple white dress.
Her hair moved gently in the breeze.
For a moment, Edward could not speak.
“Evelyn.”
She smiled.
“I told you I would wait.”
He walked toward her.
“You came.”
“I have been waiting for you.”
He reached for her hand.
Their fingers intertwined.
After six years of separation, the simple touch felt more precious than anything he had ever known.
“I have dreamed about this moment,” Edward whispered.
“So have I.”
He pulled her gently into his arms.
She rested her head against his chest.
“I missed you.”
“I missed you more.”
She laughed softly.
“How could you possibly know?”
“Because every difficult day felt longer without you.”
She lifted her face toward him.
“And now?”
“Now I am here.”
Edward gently touched her cheek.
“I never want to leave you again.”
“You won’t.”
They walked through the garden together. Get faster updates on g.com.
There was no king.
No council.
No law.
No military camp.
There was only the two of them.
Evelyn looked at him.
“Do you remember the first time we walked here?”
“Every detail.”
“You were nervous.”
“I was.”
“You could hardly speak.”
Edward laughed.
“I was standing beside a princess.”
“You were standing beside the woman you would eventually marry.”
He stopped.
“Eventually?”
Evelyn smiled.
“You waited six years.
Surely you can wait until the wedding.”
Edward laughed.
“I have waited long enough.”
She leaned closer.
“One more year.”
He sighed dramatically.
“One year is too long.”
“It will pass.”
“It had better.”
She rested her head against his shoulder.
“I believe it will.”
The dream carried them to a small house surrounded by trees.
Edward recognized it immediately.
“The house from your letters.”
Evelyn smiled.
“Our home.”
Edward looked around.
There was a garden.
A small wooden fence.
Flowers growing along the pathway.
A large tree stood in the center.
He looked at Evelyn.
“You really imagined all this?”
“Many times.”
She took his hand.
“Come inside.”
They entered together.
The house was warm.
There were books on the shelves.
Flowers on the table.
Two chairs beside the window.
A small fireplace burned quietly.
Edward looked around.
“I could live here forever.”
Evelyn smiled.
“That is the idea.”
He turned toward her.
“No palace?”
“No.”
“No royal ceremonies?”
“Not here.”
“No soldiers?”
“None.”
“No duties?”
“Only the duty of loving me.”
Edward laughed.
“I think I can manage that.”
She stepped closer.
“Good.”
He held her.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Edward looked into her eyes.
“Do you know what kept me alive through these years?”
“What?”
“This.”
He gestured around the house.
“Our future.”
Evelyn’s eyes filled with emotion.
“I dreamed about it too.”
“You were always in my thoughts.”
“And you were always in mine.”
He kissed her forehead.
Then they walked outside.
Children were playing in the garden.
Edward stopped.
He looked at Evelyn.
She smiled.
“Our children.”
He watched them laughing.
One ran toward him.
“Father!”
Edward opened his arms.
The child rushed into them.
He lifted the little one and laughed.
Evelyn watched with tears in her eyes.
Edward looked at her.
“This is everything.”
She nodded.
“Our future.”
He lowered the child and took Evelyn’s hand.
They stood together beneath the tree while their children played around them.
Edward imagined growing old there.
He imagined Evelyn waiting for him.
He imagined family dinners.
Laughter.
Quiet mornings.
Festive celebrations.
Children growing into adults.
And finally, the two of them growing old together.
He looked at Evelyn.
“I want this life.”
“You will have it.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Edward woke suddenly.
The room was dark.
For several seconds, he did not understand where he was.
Then reality returned.
The small military quarters.
The cold walls.
His sword beside the bed.
The silence.
He reached for Evelyn’s letter.
He read it again.
“Only one year remains.”
He smiled.
“One year.”
The sixth year continued.
Edward worked harder than ever.
He volunteered for difficult assignments.
He trained younger soldiers.
He followed the king’s commands without complaint.
Every day became another step toward the end.
Some soldiers noticed the change in him.
“You seem different lately,” one of them said.
Edward smiled.
“I am close to finishing my service.”
“And what will you do afterward?”
Edward looked toward the horizon.
“I am going home.”
“Home?”
Edward smiled.
“To the woman I love.”
The soldier laughed.
“You have been talking about her for six years.”
“And I will continue talking about her for the rest of my life.”
As the months passed, Edward’s dreams of Evelyn became more frequent.
Sometimes he dreamed of their wedding.
He saw her walking toward him.
He heard the music.
He saw the smile on her face.
Sometimes he dreamed of their home.
Sometimes he dreamed of sitting beside her beneath the tree.
Sometimes he dreamed of holding her hand while they watched their children play.
And sometimes the dream was simpler.
He would simply see Evelyn standing before him.
She would smile.
He would hold her.
And neither of them would need words.
The dreams gave him peace.
But they also reminded him of what he had sacrificed.
Six years of his youth had passed.
Yet Edward did not regret a single day.
Because every sacrifice had brought him closer to the future he wanted.
One evening, Edward wrote to Evelyn.
“My beloved Evelyn,
The sixth year is passing.
There was a time when seven years sounded like a lifetime.
Now I can see the end of the road.
I dream about you almost every night.
I dream that I am walking beside you.
I dream that we have a home.
I dream that we have children.
I dream that I wake every morning and find you beside me.
Sometimes the dreams feel so real that waking hurts.
But I do not mind.
Because the dreams remind me of what I am fighting for.
You.
Our future.
Our home.
Our family.
I have given six years to this journey.
I will give one more.
And when that final year ends, I will return to you.
Until then, keep waiting.
Keep believing.
And remember that no distance has ever changed what is in my heart.
I love you.
Edward.”
He folded the letter carefully.
Then he looked toward the night sky.
“One more year.”
His voice was filled with determination.
Edward did not know what awaited him at the end of that final year.
He did not know that the royal law might demand a sacrifice greater than any he had already made.
He did not know that the future of his love would soon be placed before the king and the Council of Elders.
All he knew was that Evelyn was waiting.
And he was coming home.
The seventh year was approaching.
And with it would come the moment Edward had spent six years dreaming about.
The moment when his service would end.
The moment when he would stand before King Adrian.
And the moment when his love for Princess Evelyn would face its greatest test yet.