At one point, my battered heart wasn't sure that it could trust love, that it would know when you'd walk into my world and change it so completely. It wasn't sure if the change would be unifying, two people falling in love with each other or if it would leave me vulnerable and struggling with trust once more.

But my heart didn't know you yet, Shirayuki, the very woman who walked in and changed the course of my life with just one moment. When you took the sheath of my sword and hit yourself with it to prove that I could trust you to take care of me, I was stunned and yet trust flowed easily from your determination to win it over.

You from the start changed something within me, and before I knew it, I was falling in love with you, without the aid of clever words or really a deeper understanding. I wanted you to choose to remain by my side and let our meeting shape our fate, our futures, but I wasn't really sure yet that I'd fallen for you. I'd been blind to the fact, drawn as I was to your friendship, to coming to know you as a new person in my life.

It didn't take long for me to fall for you completely, to realize that there was something extra special about our friendship, and how closely intertwined, I really wanted our future to be. I didn't know it back when we first met or even when you first moved to Clarines, but I came to realize just how much I cared for you, how much I'd sacrifice for your safety and your joy.

I came to realize what I shouldn't say or do, if I didn't want you angry with me and what truly could make you happy. I was so drawn in by you that day, when you dove into the water, trapped but willing to fight for the success of our messenger birds. I was drawn in by your courage and your strength, and just the shock of who you, the incredible woman that you are, and the sheer beauty of your compassion and love.

You captivated me, and when I moved your beautiful red hair to the side and leaned down to kiss you, I'd been overwhelmed by the thought of you, by your presence, by our sudden aloneness. I still can't quite believe what feeling swam in my heart and overflowed in each and every vein as I kissed you. It was warm, it was calm, and it was over way faster than I wish it would have been.

I love you, Shirayuki, and I hope that we'll always get to spend our lives together.