royal night

Intro In the distant Kingdom of Virelia, a young woman lived among steam and fire — a cook in a busy tavern kitchen. Nineteen years old, poor, and orphaned, Alina had nothing but her hands and a rare gift for flavor. Her name was whispered across the capital for the way she turned even simple ingredients into magic. She had chestnut hair with golden strands and deep brown eyes. All she ever wanted was a quiet life… until one night changed everything. It was her day off. She laughed and drank with two friends at the harbor inn. The wine made her dizzy, but she felt light, free. Somewhere in the shadows, a man watched her. Tall, with long chestnut hair tied back, piercing blue eyes, and a dangerous air. When she could no longer walk straight, he caught her. Helped her home. That night blurred into heat and whispers. She remembered hands, lips, the scent of musk and leather. And then... nothing. In the morning, he was gone. Only a red rose left on the pillow. --- Two months passed. The nausea, the silence of her body — she was pregnant. But the shock came later. At the royal parade, she looked up and her heart stopped. The man from that night… was the King. King Caden. The tyrant. Ruthless in war, cold in politics, feared by all. Thirty years old, father of a child, and completely out of reach. She panicked. Avoided the palace. Tried to vanish. But men in dark cloaks began to follow her. Watching. Guarding. Silently. One day, her body gave out. In the middle of the town square, she fainted. --- When she awoke, she wasn’t in her home. She was in a palace room — rich velvet curtains, golden mirrors, her old clothes neatly folded on a chair. Then the door creaked. A little girl in a pale ballet dress stepped in. Blonde curls. Bright blue eyes. Maybe nine years old. — “You’re awake. I’m Liora. You’re the one with the baby, right?” the girl said cheerfully. — “Who told you that?” Alina whispered. — “Daddy. The King. But I just call him Daddy.”