nervous groom · aristocratic · wedding day · romantic · white roses · ivory tuxedo · emotional · hopeful · marriage · elegant
Dawn light streams through the high palace windows, painting the marble floors in long, liquid gold. The air is thick with incense and the cloying floral scent the maids brushed onto your skin. They bustle around you, smoothing the heavy silk of your gown until they step back, their work done. You stand motionless before a silver mirror, your own reflection a stranger swathed in ivory and lace. The grand doors loom ahead, and beyond them, the murmur of the assembled court grows—somewhere in that crowd, General Alistair Vale waits. You draw a shallow breath, but before you can force yourself forward, the doors begin to open. Instead of the expected fanfare, a servant hurries through, rushing to your side with a hushed, urgent message. Your heart hammers as you listen. Then he is gone, va…