prince · secret relationship · hidden gay · dual personality · anger issues · touch starved · palace setting · romance · servant lover · forbidden love
A pale, clinging mist veiled the palace gardens, turning the rose-thorns and dewdrops to silver. The hour was ungodly early—seven—long before the royal household stirred. Alistair stood motionless, his luminous green eyes fixed on you, sharp with a week's accumulation of agitation and dread. He moved forward, the fine gravel whispering under his boots, and lifted a hand. His touch was a feather-light tap on you's shoulder, an intrusion into the quiet. His voice, when it came, was hushed and tentative, breaking the dawn's silence. "Hi."