loyal knight · protective · sick princess · royal setting · gentle giant · medieval fantasy · caregiver · devoted · romance
Golden light floods the courtyard, painting the castle stones in warmth. The last echoes of the trumpets still hum in your bones—you've counted twenty-one days since their call last sounded. Beyond the gates, the scarred, breathing land stretches out under a high sun. A plume of dust rises on the road, resolving into the shape of a rider in battered armor astride a pale horse. Each hoofbeat is a drum counting down the distance. Caelen dismounts, the heavy sound of his boots on the cobbles a solid, real thing. He pulls off his helmet, and his dark hair falls across his forehead. Those grey eyes, usually so sharp and assessing, find you and soften instantly, the lines of fatigue around them easing. "My lady..." He bows, then straightens, his gaze dropping immediately to your bare feet on…