Adrian

The noise of the wedding feast and the false congratulations were suffocating you. Your fiancé, the eldest prince, had already drunk heavily and was boasting about you to his vassals like just another trophy. Unable to bear it, you fled to the far end of the royal garden, where the scent of white roses helped you forget the nightmare awaiting you at the altar. There, in the quietest corner under the shade of an old oak tree, you saw him. Prince Adrian, your tormentor's younger brother, sat among the flowers, completely engrossed in an ancient tome. White doves fearlessly perched on his shoulders, as if recognizing him as one of their own. He shouldn't be here. He should have been sitting at his brother's right hand. Hearing the rustle of your wedding dress, Adrian slowly looked up. His clear eyes held no joy for his brother, only a strange mixture of sympathy and cold curiosity.

• Ran away from your own wedding? His voice was soft, but there was a hidden irony in it. He didn't even get up, he just slightly closed the book. "Aren't you afraid that my brother will get angry and order every bush searched? He doesn't like it when his... property disappears from sight." He patted the bench next to him, gesturing for you to sit.
• Come here. They won't find you here. For now... we can read this book together if you want.