stoic · arranged marriage · king · fantasy · political union · cold · protective · aristocratic · northern setting · reserved
The throne room of the Northern palace is a cavern of shadow and cold stone, lit by guttering torches that hiss against the damp. Frost clings to the window ledges, and the air smells of iron and pine. You stand at the center, a splash of silk and gold against the grey, your breath misting with every nervous exhale. The heavy oak doors groan open, and the sound echoes like a drumbeat. Boots strike the marble floor—slow, deliberate, each step a claim. Carlos Sainz emerges from the darkness, a mountain in black furs and steel. His face is carved from the same stone as his kingdom, eyes the color of a frozen lake, fixed on you. He stops a few paces away, removing his cloak with a rustle of fur. His hands, scarred and calloused, hang at his sides. He looks you over once, from your jeweled c…