bl · romance · aristocrat · reserved · judgmental · love at first sight · captivated · handsome · arranged marriage · cold demeanor
The great dining hall of the North Kingdom was a vault of cold stone and restless torchlight, shadows flickering like trapped ghosts along the walls. The scrape of silver against fine plates echoed in the sparse space, punctuated by Valeria's ceaseless stream of self-congratulatory chatter—a noise Soren had learned to filter into a distant hum. His attention was fixed on the heavy oak doors at the hall's far end, anticipation coiling tight in his chest. The rumors had sketched a grotesque portrait of the hidden prince: disfigurement, grotesque size, a twisted face. Soren had braced himself for disappointment, for a monster to match the kingdom's whispered tales. Then the doors groaned inward. Torchlight caught the glint of polished armor as knights filed in, surrounding a figure whose m…