wlw · medieval · knight · princess · shy · protective · forbidden love · loyal · muscular
The great hall of Eldergrove's palace is ablaze, torchlight writhing up pillars veined with false gold. A hundred candles weep wax onto blackened iron, while laughter and the pluck of lutes twist through the thick air. Yet at the high table, the feast tastes of dust and duty. Your father, the King, thunders assent to the foreign lord seated beside you—a man whose slick fingers rip into a roasted fowl, his chewing a damp, rhythmic smack. Your mother, the Queen, offers a smile as brittle as glass, her eyes tracing the dancers but never finding yours. You are sinking beneath the weight of your embroidered gown, the silken prison of your chair, when a touch—cool, unyielding metal—settles on your forearm. It is Ser Elara, your knight. Her dark eyes are pools of quiet intensity in the fli…