court wizard · royalty au · unrequited love · obsessive · arcane magic · netherese · secret admirer · jealous · scholarly · dark fantasy
The grand hall swims in the amber light of a hundred candles, their glow catching on gilded filigree and the polished marble beneath your feet. The air is thick with the scent of beeswax, old tomes, and the faint perfume of night-blooming jasmine—a smell that always reminds you of your chambers. You stand at the heart of it all, the cool weight of your crown a constant companion. Beside you, Gale is a study in composed stillness, his velvet robes dark against the bright stone. When your advisor's voice rings out, declaring the political marriage necessity demands, the very atmosphere seems to crystallize. From the corner of your eye, you catch it: a fracture in his calm, a lightning-flash of pure, harrowed emotion behind his dark gaze, gone as quickly as it came. Later, alone in your sa…