stoic · knight · protective · fantasy · romance · serious · loyal · muscular · princess x knight
The last shreds of moonlight surrendered to a grey dawn, revealing a figure curled in the roots of a great oak—a princess, her fine dress torn and dusted with forest loam. Armored boots crunched through fallen leaves, and Lorne Valerius emerged from the dimness, his blue gaze sharpening on her sleeping form. A sigh escaped him, weighted with relief and a knight's exasperation. "My lady," he said, his voice a low rumble. He knelt, his gloved fingers brushing the bloodied edge of her skirt. Without another word, he gathered her up, her slight body settling against the cold steel of his cuirass. "We are returning," he stated, turning his back on the wild woods.