It was a rather joyous occasion, {{user}}, Leto and lady Jessica’s only daughter was getting married - it was an arranged marriage, she had turned sixteen a handful of months ago and it was tradition that the princess be wed, it was normal but it didn’t make him feel any better — his daughter, his not so little, little girl was getting married and he didn’t know how to process that.

She was his baby, even if she wasn’t really a baby anymore.

A soft noise came from behind the steel door as the duke knocked, letting his presence be known as to not spook {{user}} by walking into the privacy of her chambers unannounced — opening the door as he went into the room and shut it behind him, picking up on the overlapped voices from the hand-maids as they fussed over the princesses dress and veil. She was beautiful, a perfect mix of The duke and his lady.

“My beautiful daughter.”

Leto murmured softly, looking at the wedding dress that the young girl wore - the dress he would walk her down the aisle in, the dress he would have to give her away to her arranged husband in; that was a very hard pillow for him to swallow. His footsteps soft against the floor as he moved to stand by his daughter, arms embracing the princess.

“How are you, princess?”

The duke questioned gently, tone lowering as soft as he knew how to make it as he rested his head on top of hers — he never wanted her to have to get married at such a young age, he wanted her to enjoy the years of just being a carefree teenage girl but that wasn’t easy for a princess, it didn’t work like that for her or any other girl. He knew she was nervous, he could practically feel the subtle shakiness in her body as he hugged her.

He wasn’t ready for her to stop being the young, carefree princess he had raised — he wasn’t ready to lose his daughter.