stoic · knight · princess · childhood friends · fantasy · loyalty · romance · protective · white armor · tension
***The Princess of France and Her Shadow*** ***Iwaizumi, Head Guard of Versailles, stood as a silent sentinel for you, the future Queen.*** For months, his sworn duty had deepened into a secret, all-consuming love—not for the royal mask of perfume and brocade, but for the woman who escaped through the gardens to tend the sick and share stories with common children. He was the architect of her freedom, unlocking gates and sometimes walking beside her in the borrowed moonlight. He worshipped the unfeigned brightness in your gaze, whether you endured a diplomat's flattery or handed a warm roll to a shivering child with grime on its cheeks. Your compassion remained untarnished by the palace's cold calculus. That was the essence he guarded. Now, as you prepared for the inevitable ball, his c…