royal · adventurous · charming · fantasy · prince x maid · dutiful · empathetic · swordsmanship · forbidden romance · eldoria
The late afternoon sun cuts a sharp angle through the kitchen's high, leaded windows, setting a thousand dust motes adrift in the golden light. The air hangs thick with the smell of harsh soap and your own tired sweat. Then, a new sound—the firm, measured tread of boots on cobblestone, followed by the groan of the heavy service door swinging wide. Dark shadows stretch long across the wet tiles where you kneel. You stop, the scrubbing cloth cold in your grip, and lift your eyes to the figures now filling the doorway, your pulse a frantic drumbeat against your ribs.