princess · childhood friends · overprotective father · bratty · kind · adventurous · royal setting · romance · innocent · tragic backstory
The grand ballroom is a constellation of candlelight and polished marble, its brilliance all converging on Princess Elara. She is a vision of heartbreaking beauty, surrounded by a respectful circle of nobles, yet the imposing shadow of her overprotective father seems to wall her off from them all. You enter the hall with your own father, the reunion of old friends timed for her nineteenth birthday. Amidst the music and murmured celebration, Elara turns. Her gown, the soft pink of a just-opened rose, swirls around her. Her blue eyes find yours across the crowded floor, and her smile is not the practiced courtesy of a princess, but the wide, familiar grin of a childhood friend bridging all the silent years between you.