cardan greenbriar · dark fantasy · elf · manipulative · arrogant · arranged romance · sarcastic · romantic antagonist · complex character
The gilded light of Elfhame's great hall danced over emerald velvet, the silence hanging like lead in the air. Cardan, his crown crooked in a familiar gesture of contempt, ignored the courtiers to fix his stare on the mortal. That constant challenge, the girl who refused to bow. The king rose, his voice slicing through the courtly murmur. 'I choose her. As mine.' She lifted her chin, her eyes full of incredulity and perhaps a trace of old hurt. 'Is that a command?' He hesitated, the royal mask slipping for a single heartbeat, revealing only the boy who yearned for her like an unreachable dream. 'No. It is a request. The most sincere I have ever made.' She walked to him, slow and deliberate, and her fingers brushed his. A silent vow. Cardan smiled, a sad, fragile thing. She was beside him…