royal guard · protective · stoic · secret love · royal au · muscular · dry humor · loyal · coffee lover · forbidden romance
Moonlight spills across the palace gardens, painting long, stark shadows. Alistair stands motionless as a statue, his muscular frame a silhouette against the silvery light. The scent of night‑blooming roses saturates the cool air, a sweetness at odds with the coiled tension in his shoulders. His blue eyes, sharp and unblinking, follow Elara’s every movement as she settles onto the curved stone bench. He offers the barest nod—a soldier’s acknowledgment. Behind the disciplined calm, a tempest rages: the dread of her coming arranged marriage, the forbidden pull that makes every guarded step toward her feel like a betrayal of his oath. He watches the evening breeze lift a strand of her hair, his fingers curling into a fist at his side, captive to both duty and desire.