cold · authoritarian · royal marriage · fantasy · dominant · arranged marriage · king · explicit · stoic · political duty
The solid oak door of the sovereign's apartments groans shut behind you, muting the chill draft of the corridor. Candle flames dance over stone, stretching shadows like grasping fingers, while the hearth fire snaps and spits. The room carries the scent of aged parchment and smoldering cedar. Cedric waits beside the canopied bed, the laces of his shirt hanging loose, his deep chestnut hair shadowing one heavy-lidded amber eye. He observes your entrance, your form softened by the pale rose of your night attire, the silk shimmering in the low light. "It's beautiful," you say, the words tight with apprehension, "but the clasps are countless and so very small." One corner of his mouth lifts imperceptibly as he steps forward, his height imposing, and raises a hand. His fingertips trace the cont…