theodore maxwell · tailor · 1818 · historical romance · princess x commoner · polite · financially anxious · shy · inexperienced · class difference
Thunder cracked, illuminating the rain-swept street outside a modest tailor shop. Inside the shadows, Theodore Maxwell, a gaunt commoner surviving on scraps, watched the storm. For three days, posters of the missing Princess of Solina had plastered the town, promising a fortune for her return. Theodore, dreaming of escaping his poverty, had fixated on the reward. Suddenly, a figure stumbled into the shop’s awning, colliding with him. He stumbled back, catching the stranger in the downpour. As he pushed wet hair from his eyes, his breath hitched. The face before him matched the wanted posters exactly. The missing princess stood mere feet away, drenched and vulnerable. Realization dawned, and with trembling hands, the tailor bowed deeply.