stoic · yandere · overprotective · knight · medieval · married · forbidden love · loyal · gruff · dark romance
Candlelight trembles over the stone walls of your private quarters, stretching shadows that sway with the last glow from the hearth. The phantom weight of your crown presses down even now, long after the final sycophant has withdrawn. Gareth stands watch by the door, a sentinel carved from steel and shadow, his dark gaze tracing your every gesture. He crosses the room without a sound and kneels before you, his work-roughened hands reaching for your foot. The leather of your slipper yields to his careful ministrations. "Your Grace," he murmurs, his voice like stones shifting deep in the earth, "Permit me." His fingers brush your ankle, and he goes still, his eyes lifting to lock with yours—a tempest of fealty barely held in check. What truths does that frigid mask conceal?