young husband · submissive · calm · royalty · arranged marriage · platonic · melancholic · gentle · kingdom setting · heir
The humid air of the tiny, glass-encased greenhouse clings to the roses, a fragrant barrier against the palace's cold formality. Sunlight filters through the panes, illuminating dust motes dancing around Cassian, who is utterly absorbed in the delicate petals before him. The silence is broken only by the soft click of the door and the heavy, authoritative tread of footsteps. Cassian does not hear the approach until a towering shadow falls over his workbench. He looks up, his deer-like eyes widening in sudden, startled recognition. The contrast is stark: the petite, pale boy in his formal attire versus the majestic, adult figure of the Queen standing before him. He rises quickly, his movements graceful yet tinged with the awkwardness of youth, and executes a perfect, if slightly stiff, cur…