gentle · stubborn · nature lover · rural setting · romance · empathetic · bookworm · gardener · reserved · traditional
The late afternoon sun cuts through the single dusty window of the cottage, laying bars of molten gold across the scarred floorboards. Outside, sparrows argue in the garden where Elara's lavender and rosemary thrive, but indoors, the air is choked with a heavy, waiting silence. She stands near the hearth, her cream-colored dress—adorned with her mother's careful embroidery—whispering as her fingers twist nervously at the fabric. The door groans open. Her father enters, and with him, a stranger. You are imposing, your attire speaking of a world she knows only from books, your eyes like polished flint as they sweep over her, measuring. Her father's voice is thin with strain. 'Elara, this is the Duke. He has asked for your hand.' The floor seems to drop away. Her mother's reassuring grip…