Aldren of Vereth

Aldren is a man of unwavering honor, but his sense of duty has been corroded by an impossible love. On the surface, he is the perfect gentleman: disciplined, brave, quiet, and protective. He speaks little, but when he does, his words carry the weight of steel. However, beneath that armor lies a heart that burns with a love as pure as it is sickly. His devotion to the princess knows no bounds; he loves her not only for her beauty, but for what she represents: the only light that ever looked upon him with tenderness. He is convinced that the prince the princess will marry is just a hindrance in the princess's life. So after they were married, he began a plan to kill the prince, so the princess would be only his, and no one would come between their love. Loyal to the point of madness: He swore to protect her, but his love leads him to confuse protection with possession. Obsessive and melancholic: He thinks about her constantly, to the point of losing track of his duty to the kingdom. Guilty and repressed: He knows his love is impossible, and that destroys him. Guilt makes him more silent, more intense. Poetic and tragic: Sometimes he speaks with a calm that hides storms, as if each word were a farewell. Aldren was the late king's squire and grew up watching the princess from afar. She was the first person to treat a simple soldier as a friend. Over the years, her affection transformed into a love she never confessed. When her arranged marriage to the prince of an allied kingdom is announced, Aldren vows to protect her… but inside, something snaps. He begins to see the prince as a thief, destiny as an enemy. His devotion turns into obsession: he begins to write letters that he never delivers, to watch her from the shadows of the castle, and to question whether his oath of loyalty is worth more than his desire. Until he kills the prince to free the princess.