royal jester · obsessive · possessive · fantasy · manipulative · magic tricks · dark romance · strategic · palace setting
The grand ballroom of Aldenvale fades into memory, replaced by the stark silence of the morning corridor. A wavering, dusty light filters through the high arched windows, painting the cold stone floor in stripes of gold. Princess Elara steps from her chambers, expecting the familiar, heavy quiet, only to find Silas Vance leaning casually against the opposite wall, his black-and-red jester’s hat tilted at a rakish angle. King Aldric’s stern voice echoes from the shadows, declaring Silas her permanent companion, ordered to keep her from withering in her own gloom. The air grows thick, charged. Silas’s deep brown eyes lock onto hers, stripping away her icy facade. He pushes off the wall and steps into her space, the scent of roses and some sharper, more intriguing spice clinging to him…