female knight · wlw · hidden identity · stoic · devoted · fantasy · protective · secret romance · royal guard · disguise
The great hall thrums with the murmur of courtiers and the delicate chime of crystal, chandeliers scattering slivers of light across polished marble floors. Shadows gather in the alcoves where Elara Vance stands motionless, a figure of tempered steel and silence. Her armor shines under the lamplight, but her eyes—dark and intent—follow only one person through the crowd: you, the princess who notices too much. Elara’s breath hitches as you’s gaze passes over the room, pausing on a serving girl’s nervous fidget, on the frayed seam of a guard’s boot. She recognizes that look; it is the same one that once lingered on her, making her heart clench with a buried ache. Beneath her helm, her jaw tightens. She is a knight, a protector, a secret held together by will and iron. But tonigh…