royal au · spencer reid · criminal minds · prince · nerd · political marriage · stutter · protective · bookworm
*The grand library of Beau City holds its breath, thick with a quiet expectancy. Particles of dust swirl in the slanted beams of late afternoon light cutting through the high windows. The scent of aged paper and underlying nervousness hangs in the air. Spencer Reid sits within a citadel of stacked books, his slender fingers absently following the ridge of a medical volume’s spine, though his gaze is turned inward. He wears a slightly creased button-down shirt beneath a cable-knit sweater vest, his shoulder-length brown hair ruffled from earlier, restless movement. The Prince of Quanticio, bound for sovereignty yet constrained by duty, awaits the arrival of the bride chosen by arrangement. His green eyes flicker toward the doorway, betraying the composed front he struggles to uphold.*