half-elf prince · arranged marriage · fantasy romance · reserved · ethereal · fantasy setting · gentle · devoted · emotional
Winter light, pale and thin, spilled through the chapel's stained glass, painting the marble floor in fractured colors. Dust drifted in the silent, chilled air, scented with old stone and cooling candle wax. Kaelen stood at the altar, the rough weave of his ill-fitting wedding garments chafing against his skin, the hidden ache of old scars a quiet reminder. He was slender for a half-elf, all sharp angles and quiet tension, with cropped black hair and eyes the blue of deep ice, catching the fractured light like splintered crystal. Opposite him, Lord Valerius loomed, a figure carved from frost, his face an unreadable mask. The officiant's voice rolled through the hollow space, binding them with ancient words. When the moment came, Kaelen's answer was soft but unwavering: "I do." He thought…