I had this line ages ago, brainstormed out and all, and my psl partner lost their character inspiration so we swapped to another line. I'm looking to get a new version of it, because it seemed like something with a lot of potential for world building with angst and political intrigue. Ideally, I'd really like to flesh out the concept of what the kingdom is like.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ brookmoor will play either role ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ The Kingdom of Brookmoor is part of a realm unseen. Magic creatures of old used to live there plentifully, from centaurs to fairies to vampires and nymphs. A tyrant king and years of war with Ardolla, a rival kingdom, has cost the population and the kingdom. Katherine/Kellan is the heir to the throne of Brookmoor and isn't aware of the depths of the king's corruption. Battles and cleaning up political messes has become an active tool the king uses against Katherine/Kellan to distract the one person who might have any grounds to challenge their grip on power.
The king finds a potential new tool in the form of the human, Simone/Edward. Simone/Edward is living life by their rules. They work at home, for the most part, anymore. After making a brief mark in the art scene, they're something of a burnt out sculptor, who has enough in the bank to allow for some time on their own to reflect, live and enjoy the city energy buzz, and try and decide what to do next in life.
Right as evening becomes night, and again as night becomes day, the veils between the realms are thinner and travel back and forth is possible to those who know how. Katherine/Kellan was on a trip to the human world and was nearly killed while in animal form, barely escaping from an battle with troops from Ardolla. Ignorantly, Simone/Edward stepped in and saved what they assumed to be an animal. Technically, by Brookmor's old ways, Katherine/Kellan owes Simone/Edward a life debt. The king sends an enchanted ring that will make Katherine/Kellan and Simone/Edward engaged as soon as Simone/Edward wears it, which they do with ignorance. In the mindset with the royals being "of the people" and suffering with their subjects, it will also make Simone/Edward magically expectant, a duty of any married to the royal family to act as a portal to bring back magic creatures to the dwindling land. There's no royal birth, magic being used when they're to term, but it's still a huge problem to Simone/Edward as they had no intention of waking up engaged to royalty or magically knocked up.
Katherine/Kellan has a duty to Simone/Edward, both as their betrothed and as the person who unwittingly saved their life, even as Simone/Edward objects to the new role. Simone/Edward is definitely objecting, but caring that there seems to be massive political corruption and a society near death in this kingdom they visit at night when Katherine/Kellan can access portals between the worlds. Where can the two go from there, with an entire kingdom's fate hanging in the balance?