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A little late? “Did I hear correctly? My honorable, upstanding betrothed suggests we arrive late to dinner?” I pretended to gasp in horror. “With the emperor, no less.”

A smile tugged at Takkan’s lips. “For you, I’m willing to bend a few rules.”

I couldn’t help it. I leapt up—but Takkan was already there. His lips found mine and we locked together, his hands holding me by the small of my back, as I wrapped my arms around his neck and raked my fingers through his hair. We kissed and kissed, staggering until we fell back against a tree, and laughed and shrieked as snow tumbled off the branches onto our heads.

I’d never know how long we spent holding each other against the tree, rabbits watching us curiously. All too soon, the dusk aged and night fell upon us. It was time to go back.

“We should get going,” Takkan said, dusting snowflakes from my nose before he led me away from the tree. He didn’t let go of my hand as he knelt, retrieving the two lanterns he’d brought. A blue one for himself and a red one for me, tied together by a simple red thread.

“So I don’t lose you in the dark,” he explained when I traced the thread with my fingers.

“You’ll never lose me, Bushi’an Takkan,” I replied. “Be it bright or dark, you are the light that makes my lantern shine.”

Under the shining moon, we made our way home, our hearts beaming, and the light in our lanterns as radiant as the stars.