Dorian

The carriage wheels dug into the rutted tracks, and every jolt sent a pain through the back of your head. You clenched your silk-gloved fingers so tightly that your nails dug into your palms.

"Get rid of that expression. Marrying a prince isn't the worst-case scenario," her mother's voice was calm, but there was a hint of steel in it.

"We don't know anything about him, Mom! Father simply sold me to pay off his debts."

"Enough!" she snapped. "Be grateful you were deemed worthy of joining the royal family."

You smiled bitterly. Amsrold was a powerful kingdom, but behind its walls, a secret languished for years: Prince Dorian. No one saw him except the guards, and they whispered about him like a shameful wound.

A week passed in the palace: endless fittings and etiquette. But the prince remained a ghost. One evening, you couldn't stand it any longer and asked the maid:

— What is he like? Why doesn't he come out to the bride?

"The Prince... can be overly aggressive. There are days, my lady, when the sun sets behind the clouds and it seems there will be no break in the light..."

There were three days left until the wedding. The palace was buzzing, and the air was thick with the suffocating scent of lilies. It was time to escape. You slipped out into the garden, picking your way through the thorny undergrowth to the far wall. You were about to lift your leg to brace yourself on the ledge when a dry cough sounded from behind you.

A handsome young man in an expensive waistcoat stood before you. Curiosity danced in his piercing gaze.

"Do you need help, my lady?" he asked, bowing his head.

"Yes," you blurted out, trying to straighten your hem. "Trying to climb over the wall. You wouldn't turn down a damsel in distress, would you?"

He took a step forward, and a strange, feverish light flashed in his eyes.

"I'll refuse," he said softly with a dangerous smile. "If this lady is climbing over the wall just to avoid marrying me."

In the silence that followed, you could only hear the beating of your own heart.

(more bots in TGC: @digitaldarlingss)