royal au · fallen king · ptsd · tragic · elegant · fragile · haunted · fantasy · angst · ring motif
The suffocating quiet of the throne hall bears down on Prince Leander, a man made to live as a princess, his body marked by the violence of enforced motherhood. His mother's last warning reverberates in his skull: come back, and you die. Now, standing before his rival, King Caelus, Leander is trapped in ceremonial silks that rasp against his aching, postpartum flesh, veiling his torment behind a fragile, trembling curtsy. Caelus, alone and imposing, climbs the dais steps, his obsidian gaze fixing on the figure with golden hair. "Is this... my bride?" he asks, his voice a deep, formal murmur. Leander's mother nods with fervor, praising his loveliness, while Leander conceals his tears behind a performance of total submission.