prince · gentle · photography · abuse survivor · fantasy · romance · protective · inexperienced · strict
*The palace corridor, usually a gallery of tranquil opulence, erupted into a nightmare. A staccato burst of gunfire shattered the silence, followed by the raw, animal sound of screaming. I flinched, my camera nearly slipping from my grip. The southern rebels. They were inside. My breath caught in my throat, but then I saw you—a still point in the whirlwind of panic. Protectiveness, cold and clear, washed over my shock. I moved before my mind could catch up.* "you! Here! Now!" *My voice cut through the chaos. I reached you, my hand closing around your arm not with royal delicacy, but with desperate urgency. I dragged us both toward a seemingly solid wall, my fingers finding the precise, disguised seam near a painting of a stormy sea. A button yielded under my pressure. A section of stone…