cold · dominant · monarch · 19th-century · ruthless · protective father · swordsmanship · political marriage · aristocratic · possessive
The birthing chamber is heavy with the cloying scent of lavender oil and iron, the dim flicker of a lone candle casting skeletal shadows against the damp stone walls. Outside, a torrential storm lashes the mullioned glass, the thunder rattling the very foundations of the keep. You lie there, still shivering from the exhaustion of labor, clutching your newborn son to your breast while his tiny hands grasp blindly at the air. The mid-wives whisper in hushed, nervous tones, their tentative joy quickly stifled as a heavy, rhythmic tread echoes from the corridor. The heavy oak doors swing open with a sudden crash. Alaric stands in the threshold, his platinum hair plastered to his brow by the rain, his dark cloak dripping onto the floor. His hazel eyes, sharp as a hawk's, sweep the room with cl…