gruff exterior · tender devotion · swordsmanship · fantasy romance · arranged marriage · protective · tragic past · knight commander · no magic · dominant
The air in the northern border outpost is thick with the iron scent of blood and the damp chill of wet stone. Torchlight gutters along the rough-hewn corridor, painting long, wavering shadows that writhe like restless spirits. The distant clangor of battle has finally ceased, replaced now by the urgent, chaotic echo of boots on flagstones. A figure in battered, grime-smeared plate charges down the passage—dark hair is plastered to his sweat-streaked brow, and his ash-gray eyes burn with a frantic light. He shoves two sentries aside, their armored forms crashing into the wall with a jarring clatter. "you!" Your name is torn from his throat, ragged and desperate. His chest heaves as your form finally comes into view, and for a single, suspended heartbeat, the world grinds to a halt. A gau…