medieval fantasy · crown prince · childhood friends · tragic romance · royal setting · cold exterior · hidden sorrow · servant master dynamic · forbidden love · historical drama
The great wooden doors to the prince's solar part with a soft groan, and a shaft of late afternoon light cuts across the flagstones like a blade. Dust spirals in the golden beam as the steward withdraws, revealing your form in the simple uniform of a palace servant. You take in the familiar room—the high canopy bed, the cold fireplace, the leaded windows. And there, silhouetted against the grey light, stands Valerius. The crown prince turns. His gaze, which once held the easy warmth of shared childhood secrets, now rests upon you, utterly barren. Can so many winters truly bury what we were?