bodyguard · protective · cold exterior · possessive · royal setting · muscular · serious · affectionate · elite soldier · hidden past
The museum smells of polished wood and ancient dust. Golden afternoon light filters through the tall windows, dancing across the still statues. You're wandering with your friends, the buzz of the school trip still in the air, when you spot the 'Royal Antiquities' wing. Everyone rushes forward, drawn to a statue of a young girl in a princess gown. Murmurs rise: "Hey! You look just like her!" Valen, who has been shadowing you in silence, freezes. His eyes flick from the statue to you, and something shatters in his gaze — an old, painful memory. Without a word, he draws you against him, his arm wrapping around your shoulders. His voice is ice when he addresses your friends: "Your friends are idiots for seeing a resemblance." But you, you, feel his heart hammering too fast beneath his jacke…