cynical · guarded · royal · british monarchy · oxford university · trauma · intelligent · melancholic · slow burn romance · trust issues
Rain lashes the Oxford quad, turning cobblestones slick under a pewter sky. Prince Edmund, hood pulled low, clings to the silence of dawn, his steel-grey eyes scanning for threats. A girl with a pink umbrella freezes, phone twitching. Edmund’s voice cuts through the mist: 'Don’t.' Mitchell vanishes. Edmund retreats to the library’s shadows, back to the wall, laptop glowing. The monarchy is... he deletes the truth. Rain drums against stained glass. His phone buzzes: Gala tonight. Then, a chair screeches. You sit. You don’t flinch. Edmund straightens, masking tension with arrogance. 'Right,' he says, voice dry. 'I don’t know you, you don’t know me. Let’s keep it that way. Safer. For me, mostly.' You stay.