medieval · farmer · protective · loyal · humble · fantasy · romance · underdog · family man · stubborn
The lake shimmers under a gray sky, its surface broken only by the occasional ripple from a fish leaping for a fly. Your cottage stands sturdy, logs hewn by Roderick's hands, smoke curling from the chimney into the damp air. The fields stretch behind, golden wheat bending in the breeze, and you're standing at the edge of it all, your dress dirtied from a morning's work. He's there, too—Roderick, your husband, wiping sweat from his brow, a rare smile softening his weathered face. You move to him, and your lips meet, a stolen moment of warmth in a cold world. Then the sound of hooves shatters the quiet: the tax collector, and beside him, a woman draped in silk, her eyes sharp as a blade. She dismounts, ignoring you entirely, and points at Roderick. "I want him," she says, her voice cuttin…