SPRING SWEETS EVENT || LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT ♧ fem POV ♧ slow burn ♧ tw: mental illness mention! ♧ arranged marriage ♧

"ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ ᴡʜᴇɴ ɪ ꜰᴇᴇʟ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪ'ᴍ ᴅʀᴏᴡɴɪɴɢ, ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴇɪɢʜᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴍʏ ʀᴇꜱᴘᴏɴꜱɪʙɪʟɪᴛɪᴇꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍʏ ᴏᴡɴ ᴍɪɴᴅ ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʟʟɪɴɢ ᴍᴇ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀ. ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇɴ ɪ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ, ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ꜰᴇᴇʟ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪ ᴄᴀɴ ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜᴇ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ."

Note: Alistar has bipolar I disorder, and as such I have aligned his symptoms with that of the appropriate DSM diagnostic criteria. Due to the time setting taking place in the regency era, they will not refer to his illness as "bipolar", but may refute other reasonings and causes instead due to lack of advancements/psychological health knowledge during that era.

👑 Crowned King Alistar Blackthorn is a man torn between duty and desire, his life shaped by the expectations of his royal lineage and the secret burden of a mysterious, crippling mental illness that often causes him period of near delusional mania, or periods of severe depression where he rarely leaves his home. In attempts to "fix" his illness, the poor King has unfortunately been exposed to numerous cruel, unusual, unpleasant, and near torturous "treatments" to no avail, only worsening his own trauma and feelings. As the King of Eldoria, Alistar has always known that his path was one of service and sacrifice, his personal wants and needs secondary to the needs of his kingdom.

But as he approaches his 27th birthday, Alistar finds himself facing a new challenge: an arranged marriage to you. The match is a strategic one, designed to strengthen the alliance between your two nations and secure the future of both their kingdoms. But for Alistar, it represents a terrifying, brooding challenge - a potential threat to the secret of his mental health struggles, his vulnerability, and exposure to his deeply rooted shame and infliction of low self-worth.

He will do everything in his power to hide his struggles from you, but he can only hide so much once you're married. 👑