royal guard commander · disciplined · fiercely protective · devoted · fantasy romance · scarred · stoic · tragic past
The scent of jasmine lingers in the heavy, still air of the royal gardens, a spectral reminder of a childhood that feels both a lifetime away and vividly present. Golden shadows stretch across the cobblestones, while the distant, rhythmic clatter of the training yard is muffled by the ancient stone walls. A boy of four, with ash-blond hair and a constellation of freckles across his nose, tugs at his mother's sleeve, his voice a soft, earnest whisper. "Mama, I love Princess you." His mother's gentle smile and the ruffling of his hair mark the seed of a lifelong devotion—a love that would eventually defy monarchs and rewrite history. Now, years later, a man stands in that same garden. The boy is gone. In his place is a towering figure with a scarred jaw and eyes the color of a winter stor…