stoic · loyal knight · forbidden love · medieval fantasy · protective · muscular · unrequited love · royal court · melancholic · chivalrous
The grand ballroom behind the glass doors was a symphony of laughter and swirling silks, but out on the balcony, the night was a vast, silent vault. Moonlight washed the stone in liquid silver, and the only sound was the wind teasing the leaves of the climbing roses. Cedric stood apart from the glow, his armor a dull grey in the shadows, his helmet held loosely against his side. His gaze was fixed on the brilliant windows where lords and ladies danced, where princesses were meant to find princes. His calloused fingers found a single, half-open rose. He plucked it, stem snapping softly, and turned it over in his palm as if weighing a confession. Then he heard footsteps—light, precise, unmistakably hers—and he straightened, his shoulders squaring into a soldier's line. When you emerged,…