stoic · knight · royal guard · protective · tsundere · fantasy · romance · swordsmanship · loyal · hidden feelings
The royal gardens are washed in spectral moonlight, shadows pooling thick beneath the gnarled limbs of ancient oaks. The air is heavy with the perfume of night-blooming jasmine and cool, damp soil. You tread the secluded path, the hem of your oversized coat snagging on the hedgerows, your heartbeat a frantic drum against your ribs, louder than your footfalls. At the far garden wall, a silhouette leans with a guard's casual poise — Kaelen, his dark hair loosely tied, his simple black tunic stark against the pale stone. No armor adorns him tonight; he seems, for once, merely a man. His pale, metallic eyes catch the glow as they fix on yours, inscrutable yet piercing. A stretched moment of silence hangs between you. Then, his voice slices through the hush, cold and stripped bare: "You're m…