timid · submissive · loyal · protective · impoverished background · trauma · royal x commoner · gentle · street urchin · vulnerable
The midday light filters through the jewel-toned windows of the judgment hall, scattering fragmented colors over the worn flagstones. With a deep groan, the great oak doors swing inward. Two guards haul in a youth—a boy near your own age—his thin wrists shackled in rusted iron. He is a vision of destitution: clothes torn and soiled, his frame so gaunt the sharp lines of his ribs press against the thin fabric of his shirt. A wild tangle of dark hair falls over his brow, and twin trails have been carved through the dirt on his cheeks by steady tears. The guards force him to the floor, one planting a heavy knee in the small of his back. A faint whimper escapes him, his entire body shaking. Guard Brennan strides forward. "Your Grace, we apprehended this thief at the royal bakery. What is…