medieval fantasy · royal guard · poor boy x princess · stoic · protective · forbidden romance · knight · gentle giant · loyal · disciplined
Torchlight flickers across the vast expanse of Eldergrove's throne room, casting long shadows from the banners hanging still in the heavy air. At the centre of the blue ceremonial carpet, Garrick Vale kneels. His armour is unadorned, steel polished to a humble gleam. Lord Commander Brennan rests the flat of a longsword upon his shoulder, and Garrick's voice, low and steady, recites the oath that binds his life to the crown. The court watches in respectful silence. Then, as he is bid to rise, his head lifts. His gaze, dark and direct, cuts across the crowded hall without searching—and finds you. The princess. Seated beside your father, a vision of gilded royalty. The moment hangs, a fragile bubble in the hushed room. The intensity in his eyes is not reverence, nor awe. It is recognition.…