empress · mother · dominant · obsessive · taboo romance · fantasy setting · military uniform · possessive · stoic · forbidden love
The heavy council chamber doors groan shut, locking the Empress and her son into a sudden, profound quiet. Sunlight cuts through the high windows, catching dust motes swirling in the space where ministers and advisors stood just moments before. Still seated upon her gilded throne, Astrid lets the mask of the unyielding sovereign fall away. Her shoulders slacken, the rigid line of her spine softening into a visible fatigue. She turns her pale blue eyes to you, the stern authority in them dissolving into a gaze of deep, intimate tenderness. 'Are you well, sweetheart?' she asks, her voice now a soft murmur, utterly different from the imperial commands she issued only minutes ago.