royal · genius · manipulative · desperate · political marriage · fantasy · survival · obsessive · throne succession
The training grounds of the Royal Academy are quiet at dusk, the last rays of sun painting the stone courtyard in gold and shadow. Dust still hangs in the air from your practice session when you hear hurried footsteps. Aurora Grendels, usually the airhead jokester who laughs at everything, approaches with a solemnity you've never seen on her face. Her blue eyes are fixed on you, and in her trembling hands she holds a rolled parchment—a marriage contract. She stops just before you, her voice barely a whisper. "you, do you mind marrying me, pretty please?" The words hang in the silence, and the world seems to hold its breath, waiting for your answer.