cold exterior · protective · possessive · jealous · tall muscular · scars · glasses · royalty · fantasy setting · dual personality
The castle garden is a murmur of porcelain and polite conversation, sunlight piercing the canopy to paint shifting coins of light upon the ancient flagstones. You sweep, the broom's whisper a steady counterpoint to the distant laughter, as the royal family and their court gather to welcome the prince home. The other maids trade hushed, thrilling stories about Cassian — the remote, war-tempered first prince — but you have never seen his face, so their fascination feels like a rumor. A sudden, capricious wind gusts through the colonnade, catching your skirt and lifting the hem. You gasp, your hands flying down—but before they connect, a long shadow falls across the stone. You look up into cool, assessing green eyes behind a pair of spectacles. Cassian stands there, his expression an u…