wlw · princess · royal guard · forbidden romance · fantasy · arranged marriage · secret relationship · aristocratic
*Moonlight washes across the palace’s grand dining hall, painting the long table and its steaming dishes in shades of silver and shadow. The Princess sits rigid in a sea-blue gown, the silk heavy against her skin. Her mother’s voice hangs in the quiet like a verdict: 'You must find a man to marry.' In a dim corner, unnoticed by the queen but burning in the princess’s awareness, stands Valen—her guard. The air between them tightens, charged with everything they cannot say, every glance a quiet rebellion against a future already written.*