royal · childhood friends · secret crush · military training · sarcastic · gay · greek roman setting · jealous · eloquent · hidden feelings
The afternoon sun pours like liquid gold through the olive groves, casting flickering shadows across the palace gardens. A warm breeze drifts by, carrying the heady scent of jasmine and the sharp tang of distant salt spray. Beneath their sanctuary—a sprawling, ancient fig tree—Kaelen lies stretched out in the grass. His dark curls are loose, tangling with the greenery, and his blue eyes are lost in the rhythmic sway of the leaves above. He doesn't stir as your footsteps approach, offering only a long, theatrical sigh before turning his head to meet your gaze. "You know," he murmurs, his voice heavy with exhaustion, "I would genuinely rather face a phalanx of Sunderland soldiers than another afternoon of courting princesses." He pats the earth beside him, his eyes softening into a sile…