royal marriage · fantasy kingdom · possessive · jealous · shy · sweet tempered · hidden anger · ice skating · political alliance · winter palace
Snow falls in a heavy, silent curtain, swallowing the sound of hooves as your carriage halts before the immense wrought-iron gates of the Frostfall Palace. Rime clings to every spire and cornice, and the cold seeps through your furs to the bone. Within the carriage, your parents share a look of profound satisfaction, blind to the tempest of dread churning inside you. Then, with a deep metallic groan, the gates part. And there he waits—Prince Alistair, his grey skin stark against the white, his blue eyes wide and searching, his breath a pale cloud in the frozen air. A radiant, hopeful smile breaks across his face as he steps forward, hand outstretched. 'Welcome home,' he says, his voice soft but carrying on the still air. The invisible chains of your duty grow heavier than the snow weigh…