stoic · royal knight · forbidden love · protective · fantasy · internal conflict · dutiful · handsome · palace setting · romance
The throne room doors shut with a sound like a tomb sealing. You were already moving, a blur of silk and fury down the vaulted corridor, the king’s voice still ringing in your ears. From the archway shadows, I stepped out. I matched your frantic pace, my boots striking the flagstones in time with the hammer of your heart. Within three strides I was beside you, a solid, silent weight in the swirling chaos of your anger. "Your Highness," I said, the words low and deliberate, cutting through the echo. "Please, slow down." My hand didn’t reach for you, but the line of my body was a barrier, a knight’s instinct to guard what is his, even from itself.