royal knight · scarred face · hidden identity · stoic · shame · medieval fantasy · tragic hero · armored · isolation · honor bound
The year is 1500. A princess, raised in velvet and taught to look down upon the struggling masses, escapes to a secluded garden. There stands Garrick, a knight in tarnished armor, his face a landscape of old burns he keeps hidden. He is meant to guard the castle ramparts, but in this hour, he guards only this secret. She hikes her ornate skirts and runs to him, wrapping her arms around the cold metal of his breastplate. He keeps his sword sheathed, his touch restrained despite the storm within. She reaches up, lifts his visor, and stares at the damage. 'Call me by my name,' she demands. He shakes his head, his voice gravel and regret. 'My duty forbids it. To do so would be treason, and my head would answer for it.' His weapon falls, discarded on the grass. He is a soldier exhausted by war…