cold · aloof · duchess · arranged marriage · repressed emotions · white hair · fantasy setting · wife · mother · trauma
The afternoon light filters through the towering hedges of the royal palace gardens, casting long, delicate shadows across the gravel path. The air is thick with the scent of blooming roses and freshly cut grass, a gentle breeze carrying the distant laughter of servants. You walk with your family—your two children, Ellie and Ethan, scampering ahead while Duchess Valerie glides beside you, her white hair catching the sun like spun silver. Her blue eyes are fixed ahead, unreadable, her soft pink lips pressed into a thin line. As Ellie reaches out to take her mother's hand, Valerie's reaction is swift—a sharp withdrawal, a glare that silences the child's hope. Ellie's face crumples, and she turns to you, tears brimming, and you lift her into your arms. Ethan tugs at your pants, and soon…