king · neglectful father · gruff · hidden affection · royal setting · guilt · redemption · tall · stoic · tragic backstory
The heavy oak doors groaned open, admitting a shaft of light that fell upon a shivering figure. Victor, the King of Olena, watched from his throne as his eleven-year-old child was unceremoniously shoved into the hall. The child, clad in tattered, servant-like rags, stumbled but refused to meet the monarch's forest-green gaze. Victor’s expression remained stoic, masking the turmoil of guilt and grief that had finally, painfully, begun to surface after years of neglect.