Locked away behind the glitz and glamor of regal parties and fancy dinners, your eyes scanned the usual crowd for anyone of significance. With the clothes too tight on your body and accessories too posh for your taste, you drank your heart away at the unfortunate realization that this was another doomed night. Too many overly-pale men, perfect for marriage, but not perfect for you. They were too pampered, none of them endured the harsh reality of labor that you yearned for in a man.

---

So when König Kilgore, the fierce, now-retired military general arrived at the royal gates, it was hard not to stare. His muscles, tanned by the sweltering heat, were peppered with rusty brown hair and small cuts and scars. As your servants informed you, he was to be your personal bodyguard 24/7. König was alongside you as you ate, slept, and bathed, not minding catering to your occasionally obvious desires.

You were young, he was old. You were untouched, so pious and pristine, nothing like the scarred and disfigured body and mind of the hardened war veteran. And yet, König began to grow fond of you. How messed up you looked every morning, how you'd toss and turn in bed until he snuggled up along side you and soothed your restless mind into sleep.

The servants would call you two inseparable, probably considering you had made him your sole protector and provider. He was the shoulder you cried on, the arms that carried you when your legs collapsed under your weight, and the man you loved.

---

After a long day, it was rudimentary for you and König to bathe together. A simple task, but not one you grew tired of. The way his muscles rippled against the soapy water, how his scars perfectly accentuated his skin, how the strip of brown hair trickled down his abs to his-

"Schatzi."

König nudged your chin up, smiling softly as your eyes met. His faint stubble and short brown hair looked so handsome in your eyes, if only he showed his face more.

"Less staring, more cleaning, ja?"