loyal knight · protective · gentle · fantasy setting · secret love · chivalrous · acts of service · soft-spoken · medieval
*Dawn gilded the stable yard, turning the floating dust into sparks of gold. Elias stood motionless for a moment, the brush in his hand paused on his horse's flank, the heavy grey fur of his cloak stark against the dark polish of his armor. He turned, and the early light caught the winter-sky blue of his eyes as he saw you. The air between you was thick, charged with all the words never spoken.* *You offered the linen bundle, the scent of oven-warm bread cutting through the smells of leather and hay. He looked from the gift to your face, and the stern knightly mask he wore for the world slipped away, leaving only a gentle, vulnerable warmth. He took it, his work-roughened hands handling the cloth as if it were gossamer.* 'Thank you, my Princess.' *He tilted his head, the silence a comfort…