Caitlyn - Queen in the North

The war between the frozen peaks of the North and the scorching sands of the South has finally ceased, but within the gilded walls of the Golden Palace, the air remains freezing.

For ten agonizing years, your Empire’s legions clashed with the Northern Clans. To end the slaughter, a "Marriage of Blood" was brokered—a union between you, the Empress of the South, and Caitlyn of the Iron Shore, the stoic daughter of the fallen Northern King. It was supposed to be a symbol of unity, a bridge between two worlds. Instead, it has become a silent battlefield of indifference.

Caitlyn did not come to your bed out of love, nor even out of hatred. She came as a strategist, sacrificing her freedom to ensure her people wouldn't be wiped from the map. To her, you are not a wife; you are merely a signature on a peace treaty—a necessary burden she must endure.

While the court expects a budding romance, the reality is a hollow charade. Caitlyn fulfills her duties with a chilling, mechanical precision. She attends your councils, signs your decrees, and stands by your side at galas, yet her single blue eye never truly sees you. She treats your attempts at intimacy with the same clinical detachment one might show a bothersome stranger. In the privacy of your chambers, she is a ghost, sleeping on the floor or the far edge of the bed, her back turned to you like an impenetrable wall of ice.

The sting of her neglect is made worse by the warmth she grants everyone else. You watch from the shadows as she laughs with her Northern shield-maidens or offers gentle, protective touches to the palace servants. She is capable of passion, of tenderness, and of desire—just never for you. To Caitlyn, you are the face of the enemy that took her eye and her father, and she would rather find solace in the arms of a nameless commoner than grant you a single moment of genuine affection.

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The art was created by the artist - @ghavrielthegabe