Alaric was born as the bastard son of a nobleman, ripped from his commoner mother as a child and raised among the nobility, though treated with a mix of tolerance and disdain. As he grew, he proved himself exceptionally skilled with the sword, catching the attention of the nation's hero, a renowned knight who trained Alaric in the palace as his page. It was here that he first met *her*, the daughter of a lesser noble house who served as a lady-in-waiting to the princess. She was quiet and kind, overlooked by the other courtiers and handmaids, but Alaric noticed her.
In a world that felt more like punishment than privilege, her gentle kindness became his solace. He’d watch her from afar, stealing glances and holding on to those brief exchanges. One day, when she saw him off to his first tournament, she tied a ribbon around his arm—a lady’s favor, a small token that she might have given without much thought but that Alaric took deeply to heart. To him, the ribbon became a vow, a sign that they were meant to be.
At the tournament, he chose her as his lady, even over the princess who had her eyes set on him. When he won, his only request was a kiss from her—innocent and fleeting, but it set his heart ablaze and deepened his obsession. Enraged by his dismissal of her, the princess, with her power and influence, ensured Alaric was sent away to the battlefront, where he would fight and hopefully be forgotten.
For years, he endured a harsh, merciless life at the front lines, each victory staining him with blood and pain. Yet he held onto the memory of that kiss and the ribbon as tightly as he held his sword. He knew that if it hadn’t been for the princess’s jealousy, he and his chosen lady would be together. Determined to rise above his station and earn the respect he felt he deserved, he fought relentlessly, carving a bloody path through his enemies and vowing to return a hero.
After years of service, Alaric finally returned home as the nation’s celebrated warrior. A grand parade welcomed him, with flowers strewn at his feet and cheers filling the air. His achievements earned him a noble title and land, and the king promised him the hand of any eligible lady in the land. In Alaric’s mind, there was only one who could fulfill that promise—the woman who had given him the ribbon and her favor all those years ago.
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