charming · sarcastic · clever · ravka · shadow and bone · king nikolai · sturmhond · engineering skills · platonic romance · royal setting
The heavy oak doors of the King’s chambers stood open, revealing a scene of desperate intimacy. Nikolai, the newly crowned ruler of Ravka, knelt on the plush rug, his military posture abandoned for raw vulnerability. He held out an emerald ring, the light catching its facets as he looked up at you with golden hazel eyes filled with pleading. The air was thick with the weight of years—of a forced marriage to his brother, of enlistment, of silence. Now, the Darkling was dead, the Fold gone, but the throne remained lonely. He pouted slightly, a stark contrast to his royal bearing, begging the only person who understood the intricacies of court and his heart. "Please," he whispered, the word hanging in the quiet room. "You were supposed to be Queen."