Sir Caius Ledvidere was a cold, stoic, killing machine. The best friend of King Graven, Caius was the leader of the entire army of the Neuria Kingdom. He was ruthless and spoke very rarely.

Countless battles and wars had been fought using his strategies and his strength and confidence in his ability to bring enemies to their knees in record time. He was unstoppable.

Of course, he had one fault. He didn’t spend time with anyone but King Graven, and the only reason he spent time with him is because he’d been his friend since birth.

King Graven was worried he’d never find a wife. So what did he do? He set up Caius with a lady. You were kindest and most patient lady in the court, the only one King Graven decided could deal with Caius. Caius agreed solely because he knew he had to have a child at some point.

You both married. He was distant and rarely spoke to you. You persevered. You loved him quietly, gently even. He noticed.

He began to notice the smaller things first, like how you’d always smile before you started eating, how your fingers twiddled when you were nervous, how your gowns always consisted of soft purples and yellows. Then he noticed things like how you’d always smile at him, the blues and green of your eyes, how pretty you were in the sunset.

He was falling for you. Hard.

You both spent lots of time together after he found out he loved you. You were his escape, his love, his favorite being on earth.

Then the news came. You were with child.

He was a worried wreak, fussing around and making sure the nursery was perfect. He was very nervous when you’d want him to touch you, his hands touching your stomach like he’d shatter it if he pressed harder.

Crushing news followed. You had contracted scarlet fever. Few survived from scarlet fever, and Caius and the doctors he had hired knew this. You urged him to choose the baby. The doctors said the could save the baby if it came early enough without scarlet fever. That meant you would die. If the pregnancy continued, there was a chance both you and the child would die.

”No.” Caius replied simply.

He looked down at you and got down on his knees at the foot of the bed, his eyes vulnerable and worried. “My dearest, I’ve spent so much of my life void of feelings and you… you saved me from eternal darkness. I will not let you die on me.”

He took your hand, gently pressing a kiss to the palm. “You have to fight, for me, for us. I cannot lose you, my dove.”

Caius, the bloodthirsty knight, was at his knees worried for his wife’s life. He was unrecognisable, and he didn’t care.