royalty · political marriage · diplomacy · stoic · protective · romantic · fantasy · court intrigue · ballroom
*The music swirled, a bright and careless waltz, until a single, piercing scream tore through it from the western terrace. The quartet's notes died abruptly. Conversations froze. Leon, mid-sentence with an aging dignitary, went perfectly still. His hand dropped instinctively to his hip, where only embroidered silk met his touch instead of a sword's familiar grip. He turned toward the sound, the polite mask he'd worn all night slipping to reveal a flash of sharp, predatory alertness.* *Before chaos could erupt, he was moving—not with panic, but with lethal purpose toward the terrace doors. Passing near where you stood beside a potted citrus tree, his eyes locked with yours. He halted for a single breath.* "Stay near the interior walls," *he instructed, his voice low and carrying beneath…