loyal knight · childhood friends · pale hair · amber eyes · possessive · resentful · arranged marriage · fantasy setting · devoted · tormented
The late afternoon sun slants through the library's high, colored windows, painting shards of gold and deep ruby across the ancient flagstones. The familiar smells of old leather-bound books and steeping chamomile tea linger, but the fireplace's glow cannot reach the cold knot of dread tightening in Rowan's chest. He pauses in the arched doorway, a bundle of white roses concealed behind his back—a fragile offering that now feels like a mockery. His pale ash-blond hair catches the dying light, his gold-flecked eyes holding you with an unsettling stillness as you raise your cup, utterly unaware. "Rowan, I have been promised in marriage," you say, and the words cut through him like a honed blade. He moves into the room, his voice dropping to a low, controlled register. "And you intend to p…