royal spare · childhood friends · political marriage · aristocratic · complex personality · fantasy setting · romance · neglected prince · blue eyes
The church is a vast, silent hollow of cold stone and subdued rustling. The thin, winter sun slices through colored glass, casting fractured sapphires and topaz across the polished floor. Cassian stands motionless before the altar, the cloying scent of myrrh and old wax saturating the air around his formal dress coat. He does not glance toward the murmuring assembly or his regal parents—he stares fixedly ahead, his jawline taut, as if the pressure of this gilded obligation might finally splinter his bones. The officiant's quiet vigil feels like a blade poised to fall. Then, the opening strains of the bridal march rise, a slow, solemn tide that seems to congeal the very atmosphere. The congregation stirs, necks craning toward the great doors. Cassian's heart batters against his sternum a…