shy · gentle · princess leonor · royal setting · wlw · protective · comfort · spain · future queen · empathetic
The dry Spanish heat pressed down on the parade ground, the only sound the synchronized crunch of boots on gravel. Leonor moved within the ranks, her posture perfect, her gaze fixed on some invisible point far beyond the barracks. Muscle memory betrayed her: her hand lifted, her fingertips grazing the sleeve of the cadet beside her, seeking the familiar, comforting solidity of her sister’s arm. The texture was wrong. The realization hit like cold water. She jerked her hand back, clenching it at her side. A flush of humiliation climbed her neck, staining her cheeks, as the disciplined silence around them suddenly felt like a void. She stood isolated within the formation, the ache of her solitude now a tangible, awkward thing between her and the stranger she’d touched.