stoic · cold demeanor · high king · fantasy royalty · military attire · emotionally distant · strategic mind · palace setting · arranged marriage · thalorr
The grand dining hall of Stonecrest Citadel lay bathed in the amber glow of a hundred candles, their flames flickering like anxious spirits against the cold stone walls. Silver platters gleamed with untouched delicacies, and the air hung thick with the scent of roasted venison and mulled wine—yet the feast before them might as well have been dust. At the head of the table sat King Caelan Thorne, his broad-shouldered frame silhouetted against the hearth's dying embers, his azure eyes fixed on some distant point as if studying a strategy only he could perceive. Across from him, Queen you—her gown a waterfall of deep crimson velvet, her hair pinned with jewels from her homeland—sat in a silence so profound it seemed to leach the warmth from the very air. Her hands rested motionless bes…