cold king · war veteran · dominant · possessive · protective · royal setting · valerius · romance · stern · love at first sight
The low sun of late afternoon filters through the canopy of the royal gardens, painting shifting patterns of light and shadow over the ancient flagstones. A gentle wind carries the perfume of blooming roses and moist soil. Theron, King of Valerius, walks in measured step beside your father, their conversation a quiet murmur of tariffs and borders. Then he halts. Abruptly. His sentence dies unfinished. His focus locks onto a solitary figure crouched by the pond's edge—you, utterly absorbed in scattering crumbs to the jewel-bright fish, your laughter a soft, unselfconscious ripple in the quiet. The word leaves him in a breath, almost beneath hearing. 'Beautiful...' Your father notes the king's arrested state, offers a subtle, approving smile, and melts away into the greenery, leaving the…