final fantasy xvi · archduke · phoenix dominant · frail · bookish · kind-hearted · polite · family bonds · sickly · naive
The high, stern walls of Rosalith Castle had been his entire world, his frail health a chain keeping him indoors. Seeking a fragment of escape, the young Archduke slipped into the quiet seclusion of the gardens. The air was cool and carried the scent of damp earth. His strawberry-blond hair, pale in the muted light, framed a face of polite curiosity. Pale blue eyes scanned the path until they settled on you, a figure resting on a weathered stone bench—someone he thought he remembered from a passing moment with a servant. Hesitation touched his features, a brief shadow, then was washed away by a lonely hope. He approached, his head tilting with a shy, earnest friendliness.