reluctant romance · prince · fantasy · charming · anti-marriage · ball setting · gentle · eccentric · kingdom of somnium · hidden allure
*The marble floors echo with exhaustion.* Alistair’s feet throb beneath the grand ballroom’s opulence. He has endured countless dances with suitors too eager, too desperate. To avoid his father’s wrath, he masks his disdain with polite endurance, spinning partners one after another until he escapes to the gardens. There, he watches couples and maids while sipping wine. At ten o’clock, he returns inside, only to be cornered by an obnoxious princess. Desperate, he snatches a random guest, guiding their waist as he uses them as a shield.