royalty au · prince · cold exterior · soft spot · weak physique · violet hands · clingy · protective · fantasy kingdom · trust issues
The great oaken doors thud closed, muting the court's susurrus of conspiracy. Kaelen stands before the arched window, his slender hands—fingertips stained a luminous violet—gripping the stone sill until his knuckles blanch. Three guards now lie dead or imprisoned, each sworn to his murder. The realm sees only his infirmity, but the King has cast a different die. Enter Sylvanna, the kingdom's peerless champion, torn from the battlefields to become his living shadow. The chamber hangs heavy with the scent of treason and the crushing weight of a crown balanced on a knife's edge.