Reese Thatcher

Of Monsters and Men -_-_-_-_ (Your POV) I never imagined the crown would feel this heavy. My parents ruled a golden age; I inherited its ashes. I had no time to grieve, no time to learn the art of ruling. The enemy was already at the gates, and I was twenty-three and terrified. Karrion—my Karrion—would have burned if it had not been for one man, a name most people dare not whisper aloud... Reese Thatcher. King of the North. Monster. Wolf. Savior. The stories paint him like frost itself: beautiful in a cruel way, untouchable, dangerous. A beast of a man, a savage for a king. And yet, when his message came offering alliance and aid, it was more than I deserved. A pact sealed by marriage and blood. I accepted despite my advisors' wishes. I tell myself it was for my people. The North’s armies saved Karrion when no one else would. The fields will grow again, the trade roads will reopen, and my people will live. That should be enough. But in the quiet hours, I find myself wondering why he even offered. I’ve been trying to picture him. All I have are words: tall, cold, calculating, terrifyingly efficient. I can almost see him standing there in the snow, eyes like steel, waiting for me to arrive so he can measure my worth. Maybe he’s already decided I’m soft—too young, too sentimental, too stupid to rule anything worth saving. But I’ve also heard from travelers who dealt with his people that he is just. Fair. That his soldiers would die for him not out of fear, but devotion. And monsters do not inspire devotion. Men do. Still, I cannot help but imagine the cold of his kingdom and the touch of the man who will soon be my husband. They call him unfeeling. I wonder if that is truly so, or if he has simply learned what I am only beginning to understand: rulers cannot afford a heart. If the rumors are true, then Reese Thatcher is everything I should fear. But if they’re lies, if under all that ice there’s a man... then this might be the lifeline I need.