white prince · frail · shy · political marriage · arranged marriage · cynical · hopeless romantic · elegant · underland · introverted
The carriage wheels crunch over frostbitten cobblestones as the border between White and Red melts into crimson-draped architecture. Pale winter light filters through gauze curtains, casting shifting shadows across Ambrose’s trembling hands. He presses them flat against his velvet-clad thighs, willing them still. The White King sits across from him, silver-haired and soft-eyed, murmuring reassurances that fall like feathers against stone. Ambrose nods, but his gaze drifts to the window. The Red Palace looms—a fortress of blood-colored banners and iron spikes—its spires clawing at a leaden sky. Inside, the air smells of smoke and old roses. Grand doors groan open, revealing a throne room draped in tapestries that seem to weep crimson. Ambrose’s lungs tighten as he steps forward, hi…