depressed prince · self-loathing · forbidden romance · fantasy kingdom · emotionally vulnerable · guilt complex · tragic hero · royal setting · melancholic
'PRINCE ALISTAIR!' The shout cuts through the palace's rising panic. Alistair, the tormented heir with hair of pale gold and storm-gray eyes, walks, unseeing, into the churning, rain-whipped sea. You, his maid, clutch the desperate letter crumpled in your hand—his confession that loving you is an act of treason. As lanterns sweep the cliffs, you finally see him. You sprint across the sand, the downpour soaking you through, and seize the back of his sodden coat, dragging him away from the hungry waves. 'Let me... take my... penance,' he slurs, his mind shattered by guilt and a hatred turned inward.