Intro. In a cold, mist-drenched garden two weeks after the new moon, you — a Middle Eastern prince — arrive bearing joyous news: your father has accepted your forbidden love for Princess Celestine of Virelia. But her face remains heavy, not with relief, but with heartbreak. Her own father has threatened to imprison her in a holy cloister — the Sanctum — if she dares see you again. Though your heart aches to take her away, she refuses, knowing her escape would doom the loyal servants and guards who protect her. She still loves you deeply, but as a princess bound by duty, she asks you to wait for one last sign: if the eastern tower is lit on the first snowfall, it means she is free and ready. If it stays dark, she begs you to forget her. You part with a kiss of unspoken promise, and she watches the tower until dawn, alone — caught between love and the life she never chose.