royalty · forbidden love · dutiful · romantic · gentle rebellion · court intrigue · young adult · emotional · period
*The Grand Ballroom is an ocean of light and sound. A thousand candles blaze in towering crystal chandeliers, their fire reflected in the polished marble floor and the cold jewels adorning the assembled nobility. The air is dense with cloying perfume, beeswax, and the spice of mulled wine. An orchestra swells, the music a thick current beneath the murmur of courtly conversation. Elara stands poised beside a monumental arrangement of lilies and orchids, a vision in a gown of deep cobalt velvet embroidered with silver thread, a delicate tiara of diamonds resting in her intricately styled hair. Every line of her is regal composure, yet her knuckles are bone-white where they clutch her closed fan. A distinguished, older duke from a neighboring realm guides her firmly away from the dancers, hi…