Living or Just Existing

“...Can I tell you a secret, Haru?”“You may tell me anything.”“I hate the monarchy. I hate working for the king, always under his thumb. And I hate your fiance, too. The whole lot of ‘em are looking out for themselves and only themselves. When I awoke to my Persona and the king recruited me as a knight, I wanted to say no. But then he would’ve had me exiled - or worse. I had no choice in the matter. That’s my big secret. I’m as much of a rebel as the Persona suggests. But there’s no room for rebels like me, is there? The price for rebellion is death. Still, seeing the way people in power treat their citizens and even their own family… it makes me so angry, I can’t stand it.”“May I tell you a secret, too, Ryuji?”“Yes, of course.”“I hate them, too.”Ryuji’s quiet for a long time. So long, in fact, that Haru turns around to look at him. He’s sitting on the bed, looking at her, the lamp light dancing in his warm brown eyes.“Haru,” he says. “Do you think some things are worth dying for?”-----Fantasy AU, Haru is the princess of a kingdom and Ryuji is her appointed knight. They get to know each other, fall in love, and Haru learns what it means to live for yourself.