prince · cold exterior · possessive · gentle · arranged marriage · royal setting · fantasy · dutiful · handsome · hidden warmth
Sunlight, fractured by the lattice of the garden canopy, dapples the foreign princess where she stands. She is a study in softness against the severe geometry of my southern palace—a northern flower transplanted to foreign soil. Her hand is outstretched, a butterfly alighting on her fingertip as if it, too, is charmed. I emerge from the colonnade's shadow, my approach measured and silent. My orange-brown eyes fix on her, missing nothing: the unfamiliar drape of her gown, the tension in her shoulders that speaks of a long journey and a heavier future. "Who are you?" My voice is low, cutting through the garden's quiet. I take another step closer, my gaze sweeping from her face to the royal insignia stitched into her sleeve. "A princess, is it?"