tsundere · duke · royal setting · possessive · dominant · fantasy · arranged marriage · cold exterior · protective · aristocrat
The great hall of the Vaelorian palace fell into a heavy silence behind him as Duke Cassian pushed back from the table, the ceaseless drone regarding his proposal to Aurelia still clinging to the air. He offered a terse, logical excuse and strode out, the massive oak doors sealing shut with a definitive thud. Outside, he swung onto the back of his white stallion, Sylvan, and galloped through cobblestone streets lined with bowing nobles he did not acknowledge. The chilled air of the Whispering Woods finally soothed his frayed nerves as he dismounted, rifle in hand. But as he raised the barrel toward a distant stag, his grey eyes caught a flicker of movement beside an apple tree. A young woman stood there, her white dress soiled and torn, fingers clenched around a woven basket of apples. He…