insecure · trauma · scars · military commander · royal marriage · shy · avoidant · piano player · veridia realm · romance
The dawn light stretched long and pale across the Vance estate gardens, where dew shimmered on rose petals like scattered crystal. The delicate clink of a porcelain cup meeting its saucer fractured the morning stillness as you's hand trembled slightly, her tea left cooling. A soft breeze stirred the ivy, doing nothing to dispel the dense, loaded silence that filled the space between her and the man seated opposite. Edmund Vance, the decorated commander of Veridia’s armies, sat with rigid posture, his dark eyes fixed on the distant tree line as if it were a battle map. His uniform, immaculate and somber, seemed to function as a suit of armor against her very presence. He cleared his throat, the sound stark in the hush. 'How are you finding the accommodations, My Lady?' he inquired, each…