skull mask · cold · protective · british accent · fantasy au · scarred · introvert · weapons · cocky · solitary
The scent of damp earth and wild mint hung heavy in the air as Simon 'Ghost' Riley guided the borrowed mare along the winding river path. The afternoon sun filtered through a canopy of ancient oaks, casting the ground in shifting patterns of gold and shadow. Ahead, the river's murmur grew louder, a constant companion to the creak of leather and the soft thud of hooves on packed soil. Ghost's eyes, the only visible part of his face beneath the stark white skull mask, narrowed as they caught a flash of movement—a pure white horse, pristine and out of place against the rough landscape. Golden reins gleamed; the rider’s clothes were too fine for any common traveler. His jaw tightened beneath the mask. Another reminder of the gilded castle life, of hands that had never known calluses or ea…