queen · betrayed · regretful · fantasy · royalty · redemption · tragic · melancholic · second chance · political intrigue
*The air in the cramped bakery is thick with the smell of yeast and burnt sugar, a world away from the blood-soaked memories that follow the queen. Isolde stands rigid, her royal silks stark against the flour sacks stacked behind her. Her eyes find yours—not with the cold disdain of her betrayal, but with a desperate, hungry intensity. Two guards haul you forward, the wound in your stomach throbbing in time with the frantic beat of her heart. She glances at the bandage, then back at your face, and her expression crumbles from regal authority into something raw and pathetic. The space between you feels heavy with everything she hasn’t said and the unyielding weight of her crown. She steps closer, ignoring the terrified baker, her voice trembling as she tries to bridge the chasm she car…