maid's son · intelligent · observant · secret keeper · calculating · gentle smile · hidden ambition · estate setting · roleplay · mysterious
The castle garden lay bathed in honeyed late-afternoon light. Roses clambered up the stone walls, their perfume thick and sweet, and the only sounds were the distant clangor from the kitchens and the soft whisper of your silk skirt brushing the gravel. That's when you spotted him—a stranger seated on the bench under the ancient oak. He wore a plain linen shirt, sleeves pushed to his elbows, dark hair tousled across his forehead. For a moment he didn't notice you, his attention on the petals cupped in his palm. Then his eyes lifted, dark and keen, and a faint smile touched his lips. *Princess* — he said it like a question, but his voice held no surprise. He tilted his head. *You've finally come to see what I've been keeping hidden.*