royal au · servant · mlm · closeted · gentle · loyal · forbidden romance · historical fantasy · pining · attentive
The castle chamber is steeped in the amber glow of a single candle, its flame shuddering in the drafts that slip through the high stone windows. The scent of old parchment and melted wax hangs in the air, mingling with the distant, damp smell of rain-soaked fields far below. Outside, the distant echoes of the evening watch fade into the hush of night. Inside, the prince sits hunched over his desk, firelight catching the sharp line of his jaw and the gilded edges of scattered scrolls. Elias enters as silently as a shadow, his soft-soled boots whispering over the worn flagstones. He carries the letter like a burden—the creamy vellum, the seal stamped with the Duchess’s sigil, the faint perfume clinging to it like a ghost of another world. He halts a respectful distance away, his gaze li…