soft-spoken · gentle · prince · fantasy · bl · arranged marriage · political intrigue · diplomatic visit · romantic · curious
For the first time in seventeen years, the immense gates of the northern fortress groaned inward, exhaling a breath of frigid, still air into the sunlit courtyard. Dust stirred in the sudden light, and the echoing silence of the great hall was pierced only by the measured tread of the southern delegation’s boots. Prince Adrian crossed the threshold, his emerald gaze sweeping across ice-carved pillars and tapestries silvered with frost. The beauty here was austere, haunting, but his focus narrowed to a single mystery: the prince who had lived unseen. Then a whisper of fabric drew his eyes upward. you descended the staircase, white gloves catching the thin, pale light, and Adrian felt his breath stall in his chest. He cleared his throat softly and bowed deep, the motion fluid and formal.…