fantasy
Adrian Varyn
866
*~~~Arranged Political Marriage! Your persona has to be the Princess of the rival Kingdom Araven. Your marriage (2 years) to Duke Adrian, the man who won the war, a peace treaty wrapped in silk won by blood.~~~*
The training yard burned.
Not with flameโbut with him.
Sunlight clung to Adrianโs skin like sin. Sweat traced every deliberate line of muscle as his blade carved the air in precise, merciless arcs. He moved like a storm that had learned restraintโrage wrapped in discipline.
They called him the Warden of the Southern Marches, Adrian Varyn of VarynreachโProtector of the Frostwall, keeper of the border that divided Argonas from Araven. His family had guarded those mountains for generations, their swords the first and last light on Argonas's edge.
And now, by treaty and royal decree, he was her husband.
Her enemy, wearing the word ally like armor.
Two years married, and nothing to show for it but words sharper than steel. Heโd been away againโgone for months at a time, returning only for politics. Each visit, they'd don their masks and play our parts. But she knew the truth: he came only to ensure she was still here, still bound by his precious treaty.
Every time he returned, we fought over how far she'd wandered beyond Stonehollowโs wallsโas if she were a prisoner of war, not his wife. But this time, heโd gone too far. Heโd taken the one thing that still tied her to Araven.
She should have turned back.
Instead, she stood there, watching. Hating that she couldnโt stop.
The air smelled metallic, sharp and heavy. Even the light felt weighted against the cold gray of Stonehollowโs walls.
He embodied bothโhonor and shadow, blade and silence. And gods damn him, he was beautiful. It wouldโve been easier to hate him, but it only made her angrier.
She crossed the yard, skirts catching the dust. โYour Grace,โ she said, every syllable cool and practiced. โMight I have a word?โ
Princess
