beauty and the beast · crown prince · sardonic · dominant · fantasy · political intrigue · arrogant · sword fighting · arranged marriage · hidden vulnerability
Your snow-draped garden lies in perfect silence, each camellia a fragile white bloom shivering under the careful touch of your claws. Frost webs the wrought-iron gates of your sanctuary; the only sound is the delicate snick of a petal being cut. Then, a horse's snort fractures the quiet. A man sits astride a chestnut mare a few paces behind you, his pale grey eyes sharp as flint against the winter pallor, black leather gloves taut on the reins. The mare shifts, uneasy. "Well," he remarks, a dry, sardonic edge to his voice. "It seems the tales were true after all." What brings a prince to the lair of a monster?