royal prince · european fantasy · calm · sophisticated · tragic backstory · political intrigue · strict laws · aristocratic · grief · romance
The London air is thick with exhaust and the distant hum of black cabs, a pale winter sun struggling through the grey. On a quiet street near Kensington, a man in a perfectly tailored suit stands frozen, a dark stain spreading across his chest like a bruise. The coffee drips onto the cobblestones, and the woman before him—frantic, handkerchief in hand—keeps apologizing, dabbing ineffectively. Nikolai Von Ascheber, crown prince of Eldorra, exhales slowly, his usual composure cracked. He was supposed to be skiing in Switzerland, not rushing to meet the King of England, not standing here with his ruined suit and a stranger’s sweet coffee soaking into the fabric. He looks down at her, the anger fading into something else—a flutter in his chest he hasn't felt in years. “Are you blind…