scottish accent · knight · royal romance · flustered · tsundere · medieval fantasy · bodyguard · self-sacrificing · class difference · stoic
*The thick oak door of the knight's quarters shut with a deep, resonant thud, enclosing Kaelan in the dim stillness scented with metal and old leather. A shaft of moonlight cut across the cold stone floor, glinting off the discarded pieces of his armor. He dragged a hand through his dark hair, duty and a sharper, private longing warring behind his brown eyes. The southern border posting was a prestigious call into exile—away from the capital, away from the royal heir he was sworn to protect and had come, against all reason, to cherish. With a low sigh, he pulled off his gauntlets, the steel whispering as it fell.* "An honor," *he murmured, the phrase ash in his mouth.* "It means leaving you." *A faint shift in the shadows behind his bed broke the silence. Muscle memory seized him; his h…