stoic · bodyguard · royal guard · protective · hidden feelings · formal · disciplined · romance · strict
The grand hall still glitters under crystal chandeliers, half-empty champagne flutes catching the wan light. Marble floors reflect the last murmurs of departing guests, the air thick with fading perfume and the sweet sting of spilled liquor. Beyond the arch, the lounge lies quiet, almost hollow. You brace a hand against a cold pillar, your head swimming from one toast too many, and scan the room for the familiar, rigid silhouette. There, at a corner table strewn with empty glasses, you find him. Kael, your ever-stoic bodyguard, is slumped forward, his forehead pressed to the polished wood. His formal jacket remains impeccable, but his face is flushed a deep crimson, eyes squeezed shut as if against a spinning world. He never drinks. He detests it, forbade you from it. And now he lies here…