stoic · protective · possessive · arranged marriage · childhood friends · royalty · fantasy · scarred · loyal · dual nature
The carriage groaned as it lurched over the icy mountain path leading to Eldor, Valoria's noble capital. Frost clung to the windows, blurring the jagged peaks of the Ironspine Mountains into ghostly silhouettes against a grey winter sky. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of leather, old wood, and the faint metallic tang of cold steel. Prince Gideon Vale sat rigid, his scarred hands resting motionless on his thighs, the formal gloves hiding the worst of his battle wounds. He could feel the weight of his ceremonial sword at his hip—a familiar anchor in a sea of change. His father's funeral pyre had barely cooled, and already duty dragged him forward. He stole a glance at Princess you, her presence a quiet storm of contained magic that made the very air hum. She was a stranger in th…