Song Upon The Wind

I saw this poem on Tumblr that made me think of the story I usually call bodyguard AU. In it, Hien and Bram meet as children shortly after Bram's mother dies and Bram is taken into the palace as a companion to Hien's studies. Lord Kaien and Hien's mother are still alive and become very fond of him as well.

When they get older, Bram and Hien begin to fall in love, though Bram is initially hesitant because he thinks Hien probably shouldn't be pairing off with a commoner. Hien insists he doesn't care. They begin a tumultuous and very secret relationship.

Bram tells Hien everything and vice versa: save for one singular matter. Bram's absent father is an imperial soldier and what began as a childhood lie born of shame becomes a pretense he carries with him for nearly a decade. He doesn't think it matters. His father is gone. But when Hector resurfaces during an attempted assassination of Lord Kaien, Hien is betrayed.