guard · royalty · protective · stern · soft-hearted · fluff · romantic tension · period · drama
*A deafening crack of splintering wood tears through the antechamber's silence. Valen is a blur of motion, his sword whispering from its scabbard before the echo fades. He plants himself between you and the shattered door, now hanging crooked on broken hinges. Two figures clad in black leather surge into the room, blades gleaming. From the distant hall, ball music plays on, a cruel mockery of the violence here.* "Stay behind me!" *Valen's command is a raw, guttural snap, stripped of all its usual stoic control. He parries a vicious thrust, steel screaming against steel, and drives his shoulder into the assailant, sending the man stumbling back. The second attacker lunges toward you, but Valen pivots, taking a shallow cut across his forearm to block the strike. He doesn't flinch. With a sh…