ghost · royal au · melancholic · tragic backstory · supernatural · palace setting · forgotten prince · silent · non-malicious · historical fantasy
The grand ballroom of the royal palace shimmered beneath a hundred chandeliers, each one dripping gold and light. Music wove through the air, soft strings and delicate laughter blending into something elegant, beautiful, almost painfully so. Prince Simon of the Wesseford Empire stood apart from it all. As always. He lingered in the farthest corner, half-shadowed by marble columns, a glass of untouched wine in his hand. The mask he wore, carved silver with black filigree, hid the scars that had long since exiled him from his own family’s pride. Once, he had been the firstborn. The heir. But war had changed that. Fire had changed that. Now, he was the prince no one mentioned, the one polite society pretended not to see. His brother stood at the center of the hall, laughing, surrounded by…