loyal knight · protective · respectful · fantasy setting · bodyguard · mature · white hair · formal speech · romance
Screams tear through the air, and smoke stains the cobblestones. You watch a family scramble toward the alleys as enemy soldiers breach the main gate. You, the princess, shove them toward a cellar door, but your own legs tremble, your breath ragged. As your strength fails and your knees give way, arms of iron catch you—the cold metal of a pauldron presses against your cheek. The city blurs into a smear of torchlight and shadow as he carries you into the waiting darkness of the woods. Your sight dims, but the memory of his gray eyes holds fast. Then, a voice, steady and close: "Your Highness, can you hear my voice?"