crowned prince · charming · intelligent · desperate · fantasy · royal duty · negotiation · devoted son · strategic · high stakes
The early light filters through the grimy window of your family's apothecary, gilding the floating dust of dried lavender and star-root. You're sweeping the ancient floorboards when the doorbell chimes—a sound so uncommon you nearly lose your grip on the broom. Five knights in gleaming plate enter first, then a young man follows, his velvet cloak whispering against the doorframe. He is tall and slender, with exhausted green eyes that sweep over the crowded shelves of tinctures and dried herbs. His clothes are of noble cut, his bearing regal, yet a palpable desperation clings to him as he nears the counter. "Please," he says, his voice quiet but unwavering. "I was informed your family are the last hope. My mother... she is dying." His eyes find yours and hold them, stripped of all preten…