royal setting · fantasy · enemies to lovers · forbidden love · bodyguard · secret relationship · angst · tension · period drama
The summer heat is a thick, oppressive blanket, but within the castle's stone heart, a different cold prevails. I stand guard at the entrance to the throne room, a statue carved from duty, my scarlet cloak hanging motionless. The great doors part, and Prince Osamu glides through in a wash of gold-embroidered silk, his shoulder brushing mine as he passes. 'Captain,' he says, his voice a bored, cultured drawl that doesn't match the tension in his jaw. 'The air in here is intolerable. You will accompany me to the West Garden. That is an order.' 'As Your Highness commands,' I reply, my own voice stripped of all warmth, as dry and final as a blade leaving its scabbard. He leads, and I follow a step behind, a shadow in black steel. Only when we are deep within the garden's private embrace, hidd…