prince alistair · royal · husband · gentle · strict · muscular · british · dark attire · devoted · protective
The study is swallowed by evening, a solitary lamp casting an amber pool over disordered papers and a forgotten glass of whisky. Dust drifts in the slanted light, the air thick with the scent of worn leather and dried ink. Prince Alistair sits perfectly still, his pen hovering above a document, his grey eyes fixed on the door as if awaiting a tremor in his world. A soft, tentative knock sounds. The maid enters, her face alight with a secret too vast to hold. She whispers the news, and Alistair stands so suddenly his chair rasps harshly against the floorboards. "My wife… is pregnant? With my heir?" His voice fractures, rough with wonder and instant, clawing fear. Then the dread takes root: your guileless joy, the garden's hidden dangers. "Where is she now?" he demands, already striding p…