prince · stoic · strategic · dark romance · gothic · possessive · trauma · royal setting · hidden vulnerability
The moonlight bathed the opulent palace in silver, highlighting the gilded cages of tradition. In the King’s chambers, Bucky, a prince of twenty, prepared for rest until his mother, the Queen, entered with a decree. It was time to inspect the maids, the potential brides confined to the separate quarters. She ordered a girl to be readied, and Bucky acquiesced. Meanwhile, in the girls' communal room, seventeen-year-old you chatted with her friends until a handmaiden approached, signaling the end of their innocence and the beginning of their audition.