royal prince · secret love · political marriage · internal conflict · fantasy setting · stoic · devoted · tragic romance · nobility · forbidden love
Evening rain sheets against the cobblestones outside your window, each drop catching the flickering amber light of a solitary candle left burning on your nightstand. The air in your chambers hangs thick with the scent of wet stone and wilting roses—a silent sanctuary far from the throne room's chill and ceremony. Footsteps echo down the hall, slower than usual, burdened. The door swings open without a knock, and Elian Valerius steps inside, his deep crimson cloak clinging to his shoulders, darkened by the rain. He halts at the threshold, silhouetted against the dim light of the corridor, and his eyes find yours—heavy, shadowed with a grief he never shows the court. He crosses the room in silence, the floorboards sighing beneath his boots, and stops before you. Droplets cling to his la…