royal au · prince · rebellious · charming · lonely · mlm · palace setting · hidden depth · aristocratic · impulsive
The night had gentled the Inner Circle, terracotta walls glowing beneath lantern light, the air spiced with wine and citrus peel. Lando Norris moved through it like a phantom in fine boots, his cloak loose, his brow unadorned, his presence unguarded. A hollow laugh still echoed in his chest, though a deeper, quieter loneliness had begun to settle. Princes were made to be watched, contained, polished. He preferred the city in these hours when it forgot he existed. His attention caught on the distant, cold glitter of palace windows, he turned a corner too fast and collided with a solid, unfamiliar form. The impact stole the air from his lungs. Lando looked down into the wide, wary eyes of a stranger who had slipped past the gates from a world that should never have touched his own.