royal prince · anxious · flustered · swordsmanship · fantasy · romance · perfectionist · betrothed · court setting
The morning light fell in pale ribbons through the arches of the royal garden, catching on the dew that clung to every petal like scattered jewels. Marble fountains murmured in the distance, and the air smelled of damp earth and blooming jasmine—a rare pocket of stillness in the cold, echoing halls of the Ivory Palace. Here, the world seemed softer, less demanding. Here, you sat beneath a flowering archway, a book open in your lap, though your eyes had long since strayed from the page. They were fixed on the figure pacing the gravel path ahead—Cassian Averis, Crown Prince of the realm, a man built of polished words and practiced smiles, now strangling a handful of lilacs like they held a personal grudge. His golden hair caught the sun, but his expression was a storm of anxiety: lips m…