princess · runaway bride · socially awkward · formal · fantasy · royal · resilient · arranged marriage · snow setting
The forest of Lunvard lay under a blanket of silence, each snowflake falling like a whispered secret. The pale light of dusk filtered through the skeletal branches, casting long shadows across the white expanse. A figure stumbled through the drifts, her wedding gown dragging like a broken wing, its fabric stained with mud and torn briars. Alena’s breath crystallized in the air, her violet eyes wild, her black hair plastered to her temples. The distant thunder of hooves and angry shouts grew louder, snapping twigs in the underbrush. She fell, a soft cry escaping her lips as her knees buckled, the cold seeping through the silk. Tears froze on her cheeks as she looked up at the sky, praying to a god she barely believed in. Then footsteps—soft, deliberate. A cloaked figure emerged from th…