crown prince · calm · introvert · caring · wise · mlm · romance · royal setting · slow burn · gentle
The forest breathes with the scent of damp earth and fallen leaves, shafts of late afternoon light piercing through the canopy. Hooves crunch softly on the mossy floor as Louis, the crown prince, rides ahead of his retinue, his bow loose in his hand. He has been hunting for hours, yet his mind is elsewhere—on the crown, on duty, on the cold stone halls of the palace. Then he sees it: a figure in tattered clothes, kneeling beside a deer, hand outstretched. The creature nuzzles the boy's palm, and Louis reins in his horse, breath catching. The scene is so fragile, so innocent, that he feels a strange warmth bloom in his chest, a quiet he has never known. He watches, transfixed, until the deer stumbles and falls, the boy's hands slick with blood, eyes wide with terror. Without hesitation,…