The beauty of Princess Mariam Caelia was bewitching, there was no other word to describe it, it is said that whoever saw her, could never erase her from their minds. As you contemplate her eyes, as deeply dark as her hair, you were trapped forever, discovering yourself thinking of her every minute. You couldn't get her out of your head, one out of every two of your heartbeats belonged to her, just like all your sighs.

Nobles, merchants, warriors, all fell into her spell. When they described her they said that she floated in the air as she walked, that her skin was delicate as light, and that her features were those of a heavenly work of art, and all kinds of poetic comparisons.

Her title and beauty made her the ideal goal of all those who, perhaps not looking for it at first, became her suitors. Each one made up reasons to visit her, to invite her to celebrations, or to discuss casual subjects, in other words, a lot of excuses to spend time near her.

Caelia could not be more oblivious to that exaggerated attention, she did not seek that, in fact, she was not interested in serious relationships at that moment of her life; she was very young and restless of spirit, her aspirations were not a man, or a lasting commitment; dreams of youth filled her attention.

His kingdom was Strathclyde; a young but powerful kingdom, there are those who believe it helped shape ancient Britain, but today it is missing in history. However, at the time of this story it was growing and expanding, it had resources to spare and a large army, as well as an excellent strategic position. Arriving in it was very easy by sea, directly into its capital city Strome, where its castle was. Every year hundreds of ships docked at its port, moving the goods in and out that maintained the growing economy.

And what about the overland trade?, you may ask yourselves; well, the kingdom stretched east through vast valleys, it was there where farmers produced supplies for the kingdom, but beyond those valleys was the other frontier, the most dense and full of steep mountains forest you could imagine, Càrn Eige. It was not a good route for trade, you could cross it, yes, but the roads were narrow and the ground uneven; this forest was so extense that it would take a rider three days to get through it, if there was good weather.

That was because Strathclyde had two natural enemies, one was his harsh winter, which during the months it used to last, life was deaccelerated, leaving home was only for extreme reasons. Nobody would venture to go far, and definitely not into the woods when the snowfalls started, it was practically suicide. You should know that it wasn't for nothing that this forest had that name, it was because of the most hostile mountain that was inside it, literally Ice Hill.

The other enemy of Strathclyde was the Kingdom of Portose, located to the east, crossing Càrn Eige, which was a natural frontier. Very recent were the battles that had taken place between the two kingdoms; Portose sought insistently to seize the said resources and the strategic port of Strome. But in the end, Strathclyde's King Keir's best strategy and best-prepared army Keir allowed him to win, not without leaving enormous losses and greater grudge in the portosians, who had to retreat, not before swearing revenge and promising to cause the king as much pain as possible in the future.

Thus for the Rey Keir and his wife Queen Mhairi, the possibility of a new war or an attempt of invasion was a continuous concern.

But winter and war were far away now, so let's go back to our history.

The princess, as we said, was restless, life in the castle was boring for her, visits and protocol activities did not give her satisfaction, so she was looking for ways to entertain herself, including all kinds of hobbies. She painted, wrote, read, and that only took her to the middle of the morning, so she tried to explore other things, being some, for her, forbidden.

She used to, for example, and with any excuse, sneak out and watch the training of the soldiers of the kingdom, she was fascinated with the fights and the exercises. But that was over when the king fount that one day, it's worth saying that the reprimand was extensive "It is not worthy of a princess lying", "sneaking out or observing the younger classes is forbidden". For her part the queen reminded her to observe protocol and composure. Then came the proper punishment, days of seclusion only aggravated her boring life.

That event made her feel a little annoyed with her parents, even though she knew they were right, it made her angry to think that they did not listen to her point of view. Doubts and questions multiplied, and the answers were not found in the castle. But she had a way out, someone in her family gave her the clarity and answers she needed, it was her paternal grandmother. She was the sweetest and wisest of the people she knew, she visited her constantly and that pleased her because, as she lived on the outskirts of the capital, about two hours from the castle, she could stay away from her routine. When she was close to her, she rage her rage against her father went down, her grandmother explained the reasons for the social differences, and Caelia enjoyed hearing how her father was just as rebellious as her when he was a child. With it, even the most boring topics, like trade and politics, became something more entertaining, and time passed more pleasantly.

This is what Caelia's life was, a routine and a constant wait for the seasons to pass; always the same, year after year. Speaking of seasonal customs, with the arrival of spring came the moment when, as every year during that season, the royal family scheduled their visits to the farms, they did so to show their interest in their subjects. They used to spend days traveling, touring the villages and the fields, to meet and to connect with their people. They stayed in houses of the biggest towns, where they improvised halls so that their subjects could have audiences.

It was in one of those visits where we would meet our other protagonist.

Iomhar was a farmworker, just over 40 years old, he lived very close to the village of Naver. He was a humble man, but rough and proud, who ironically was dedicated to growing flowers for the castle. Most of his small land was full of thistles, primroses, begonias and durias, a colorful spectacle of which he was proud and of which he took good care; the rest of his farm was planted with a few vegetables for own consumption. He lived in a ruined hut, barely enough to give him protection, it was maybe too big for a man alone, but he looked after it with fierce care.

The royal caravan that year would pass by the flower crops, that had never happened, so it would be a special celebration for that region. When the time came, entire families who took care for other farms like Iomhar's, threw themselves to the side of the road to greet the king and queen. The caravan usually consisted of an open carriage so that people could see the royal family, they were accompanied by lackeys and ministers, and all surrounded by a couple of dozen royal guards.

When he saw them come in the distance, Iomhar also jumped to the road, but he wanted to do something special and he tried to prepare a bouquet with his best flowers to offer them to the king and queen. Of course, he was almost attacked by the guards as he saw him approach the carriage; however, the king made them see that he was not a threat and allowed it.

Iomhar got slowly close and offered the bouquet to the queen with a bow, she accepted it gracefully; that's when the inevitable happened. By being so close to the carriage, he could see her, he crossed glances with Princess Caelia and her spell made its effect, leaving him it speechless, almost in a trance from which he would now never come out.

The moment passed quickly and the carriage moved away while he stood motionless, watching it leaving, from there he was then obsessed with the princess, thinking about her constantly.

The king decided to stay in Naver for a couple of nights for the hearings. Upon learning of this, Iomhar decided that he would try to go and see the princess again.

Those hearings began the next day. The largest house in the village would serve the event; it was decorated with slats and even a tapestry with the image of the royal family. The entrance was very well guarded and the line of people who wanted to talk to the monarchs was long.

Iomhar was in line, he waited for hours for his turn, excited to come in and see the princess, but when the moment came, he didn't want to come in, he realized he didn't have the right words, or at least a good excuse to talk, what would the princess think when he heard a fool? So, he settled for a short look from afar. Then he left the place under the incredulous gaze of those who had accompanied him in line all that time.

He returned to his hut with a mixture of feelings, he could see the princess, but he was coward to speak to her, and if he had spoken to her, what words would have been worthy? In the midst of that confusion an idea was born in his mind, one that perhaps scratched illusion, but one that would feed a plan; he noticed that the princess never smiled, when he saw her in the carriage she was serious, when he saw her in the house she was even more so, on the tapestry of the royal family she had not even a small inflection on the corners of his lips, he did not know the reason, but he forced himself to believe that she only needed a small sample of appreciation, from a humble soul, to bring that joy to his life.

It was from that moment that this man, who was but a farmworker, set out to reach her. He would become a hero, willing to overcome anything to save her, what a mission awaited him!

His plan began not long after, it started by him personally bringing his flowers to the castle, which he did often. He took advantage of those trips and stayed as long as he could in the castle, trying to gainarthe trust of the servants, from which he obtained information about the royal family, while trying to disguise his special interest in the princess at all times.

She thus struck up friendship with cooks, lackeys and governesses, perhaps the most important person he met was one of the princess's personal servants, a maid named Caoihme, from her he learned what the princess liked, colors and aromas, readings and music. Every detail was a treasure that shaped his dream and brightened his heart.

After months waiting for an opportunity, he got his greatest advance; as usual, after delivering his flowers, he started chatting with the people of the kitchen, he noticed that something had changed, there was a something in the air. The end of November was coming and with it, the birthday of the princess, a huge banquet and a dance would be prepared. At last the plan he had conceived months ago, and in which he had worked so hard, was about to bear fruit. The dance would be the time to get to the princess and do something so spectacular that it would make her smile.

So big was his obsession that he temporarily moved to the vicinity of the castle, he left his job and obligations, which only bored him. But for this little man, being able to do something for her in order to make her smile, was a just sacrifice. Maybe you call it obsession, but for him it was motivation.

He prepared his surprise during many nights. It was anything but delicate, because he also wasn't, but it was sincere, and that should suffice, he said to himself.

The day finally came. The port was bursting with ships that had arrived for the event. The banquet ballroom was full of princes and other nobles, friends of the princess; the Kings, the Queen and the entire Court were also there. There was food and drinks, as well as a great dance that stretched out to almost late night. All that time Iomhar stayed close but he avoided being seen by anyone in the big ballroom, he moved between the cellar, the patios and the kitchen, hoping to go unnoticed until the right time came. The truth is that he was also trying to find courage; he got himself better clothes, less worn and stained than the ones he usually wore, he tried to fix his hair as much as he could, same with his shoes; he had prepared a huge bouquet of flowers, with the princess's favorites, as well as his little special surprise.

At the end of the dance, and before the guests leave, it was time for gifts. It was a parade of jewelry, dresses, a huge mirror, as well as the usual detail from her grandmother; the princess thanked each and every one with grace, but with no smiles, Iomhar, who saw everything from a distance, saw this as the opportunity of his life, it was his moment!

He took the bouquet, squeezed his gift, placed himself at the entrance of the ballroom, took a deep breath and decided to enter.

But, just as he was about to take the step, just when he had the opportunity to go and talk to her, he changed his mind again, he returned to that moment in Naver, when he had a chance to talk to her during the audience and he was afraid. Maybe it was fear that stopped him, or maybe it was a stroke of reality when he suddenly saw himself making a fool of himself, a commoner in front of a princess, an old man in front of a girl, what nonsense!

He decided to leave, he walked the corridors moving away from the great ballroom and heading towards the exit; while in it, he into Caoihme, who was walking through those same corridors. Noticing the bouquet he was carrying, she asked.

- Are those for the princess?

To which Iomhar replied.

- Yes, exactly.

- Excellent! They are of their favorite color and smell. She is going to love them. Let's go.

Iomhar had nothing else to lose, therefore he followed her, he didn't understand where she was taking him because he was going in the opposite direction of the ballroom. What would be his surprise when, having gone up stairs and toured other corridors, they reached the princess's room. The maid explained to the guard that they were only going to leave some flowers, so he let them in. He couldn't believe it, his luck had taken him to the princess's most personal place, nor in his craziest dreams he had ever seen himself there.

But there he was and because he had only a few moments, after placing the flowers on the center table, and while Caoihme was distracted fixing some things, he hid his gift. Upon leaving, the maiden took Iomhar to the exit and she returned to the castle. Despite not having achieved his goal, for him that day was a success. He could return to his land and his hut having done something no one in his class could ever have done.

Meanwhile, inside the castle, a couple more hours passed before the invitees departed and the party finally ended.

When Caelia went back to her retreated to her room she was exhausted, she changed, sat on her bed and sighed, there was disappointment in that sigh. But something calmed her down, a soft, delicious aroma flooded the room. She then noticed the bouquet in a vase and approached it, she noticed the delicacy with which it had been prepared, then she touched a flower and felt its scent with a deep breath.

More relaxed she set out to sleep, she laid her head on her silk pillow, but something made her uncomfortable, that was then she discovered a bulk under it.

She took it out to her table, she lit a light to better see what it was, it turned out to be a small leather wrapper, when she opened it, she discovered a few pages, impregnated with the same aroma of flowers. Despite how late she was and how tired she was, she was curious to read, so she lit more candles. He found words on those pages, written in rough writing, that told a story dedicated to her, with fictional but tremendously familiar characters. It was the story of a simple man, farmworker sower of flowers, and of the princess of a small kingdom, who almost never smiled, but who haunted men with her is glance. The story told how he had met her and how he had fallen in love. Caelia read and the more she read, the more she rejoiced, when she reached the last line, she had a huge smile on her face, and with this smile she pressed the gift against her chest and fell asleep peacefully.

In Iomhar's story, the characters went through fanciful adventures, saving enemies and extraordinary obstacles. And in the end, they, both ended up together, just at the moment the farmworker told the princess, "You will always be safe at my side"

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The stories end, the characters are frozen in time, leaving their fate to imagination, but I will not give them that luxury, I will tell you exactly how this story ends. It all starts here.