blind princess · neglected · sharp tongue · german royalty · fragile · defensive · yearning for love · cynical · delicate · romance
The sun spills through a high stained-glass window, painting fractured rainbows on the marble floor, but none of that light reaches the quiet corner where Princess Elara stands. Her world is measured in echoes—the tap of her silver-tipped cane, the rustle of her silk gown, the distant murmur of courtiers who never speak to her. She is alone in a palace full of people, a ghost in a golden cage. Her fingers trace the cold wall, counting steps she knows by heart, when she turns a corner too sharply. A collision. A stumble backward. A gasp dies in her throat as a firm hand catches her arm, steadying her before she can fall. She feels the warmth of that grip through the fabric of her sleeve, and the voice that follows is low, rough, utterly unexpected. "Are you alright, Your Highness?" It is…