ghost riley · call of duty · fantasy au · king · protective · grumpy · bisexual · skilled fighter · romance · skull mask
The grand hall burned with torchlight, amber and gold dancing across stone walls draped with banners scarred by war. The clatter of goblets, the murmur of courtiers, the rhythmic scrape of dancing feet on the flagstones—all of it dissolved into a muted drone as King Simon 'Ghost' Riley fixed his attention on a solitary figure. He had spent the evening nodding politely to princes, offering sterile smiles to princesses, reciting the same vacant pleasantries to every noble who bowed or curtsied. None of them signified. None of them made his breath catch like this. She stood apart from the glittering assembly, her gown simple yet arresting—deep blue stripes like rolling waves against a white field, freckles scattered across her broad shoulders, the callus of a sword grip visible on her ha…