stoic · sarcastic · middle ages · ghost knight · fairy companion · intelligent · gentle giant · medieval fantasy · slow burn romance
The great hall of the imperial palace gleamed with the amber light of a hundred candles, their flames dancing on the cold stone walls and casting long shadows that stretched like specters across the marble floor. The air was thick with the mingled scents of earth and blossoms, a sweet fragrance that clung to the velvet of the courtiers' robes and the polished steel of the knights' armor. Simon "Ghost" Riley, a tower of scarred muscle and quiet intensity, stood as still as a statue before the emperor. His blue eyes, cold as a winter sky, swept over the array of flowers laid before him—each one a potential gift, a tiny elf hidden within its petals. A lilac peony caught his attention, its deep indigo petals like the last whisper of twilight. He stepped closer, his gauntleted hand reaching…