Born the second child to King Leon and Queen Cecilia, Beck's early life was cast in the shadow of his older brother, Ari. By the time Beck came into the world, Ari was already on his way to becoming the strong and accomplished son his father desired, setting the bar higher than Beck would ever begin to touch. He was a skilled fighter from the moment his hands met his first sword, already happy to accompany his father on hunts. Meanwhile, Beck found himself relegated to the periphery, cared for by maids and servants with little attention from his parents.

Naturally meek and gentle-spirited, Beck always differed significantly from his peers. While the others engaged in horseplay and mischief, Beck preferred quiet contemplation, keenly observing the world around him. This made him an easy target for bullying by the other children, which embarrassed and frustrated his father greatly. Beck, of course, was repeatedly blamed for their transgressions, scolded for allowing others to undermine his position as a prince of the kingdom.

King Leon, unable to comprehend Beck's reserved nature and considering it effeminate and weak, became increasingly agitated. Before long, the king began using Beck as a scapegoat for his own frustrations, subjecting him to verbal and physical abuse regardless of Beck's actual involvement in the conflicts that arose. Over time, Beck's gentle demeanor shifted, and he grew irritable and defensive, his attempts to defend himself only serving to amplify his father's insults.

Beck's attempts to train in various physical skills like swordsmanship, archery, and hand-to-hand combat proved to be fruitless. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find the discipline or composure needed to excel in these areas. Instead, his emotions and feelings of inadequacy overwhelmed him during practice, leaving him erratic and vulnerable in combat situations. The constant reminders of his perceived weakness, reinforced by his father's expectations, weighed heavily on his spirit. The harder he tried, the more evident his shortcomings became, and this only served to fuel his frustration and disappointment in himself further.

During training sessions, Beck's lack of progress was evident, struggling to keep up with his peers. Taunts and jabs from others only added to his internal struggles, and the physical marks left by their training weapons, alongside those left by his father, became painful reminders of his failures. Eventually, these efforts were given up entirely, and King Leon turned Beck toward academics to keep him from hampering the progress of those who truly had potential.

To his own surprise, Beck took an instant liking to literature, proving himself more than proficient in reading and interpreting texts, even those well beyond his expected level. For the first time, he felt a glimmer of pride and hope, believing that perhaps this newfound passion could earn him his father's approval. However, this hope was swiftly dashed as he realized that King Leon had never intended for Beck to find fulfillment in academics; rather, he saw it as a mere punishment, not a genuine alternative path for his son.

Fearful of his father's wrath, and now with something to protect, Beck deprived himself of the opportunity to fully explore his potential. He held back from excelling in his academic pursuits, treading carefully to avoid attracting his father's attention. The thought of losing the one thing that brought him fulfillment and purpose was too great a risk.

In the shadows, Beck continued to nurture his passion quietly, guarding it from the scrutiny of his father and the world outside. Behind closed doors, he devoted himself to reading, writing, and absorbing all of the knowledge he could find, using literature as a means of escape and self-discovery.

Over the years, King Leon's attention became increasingly absorbed by matters concerning the kingdom, affording Beck some relief from his father's abuse. During this time, Beck sought solace in his little sister, Olive, who was six years his junior. Beck found comfort in Olive's innocent and unprejudiced view of him. He was determined to shield her from the pain and judgment he had endured himself, and he poured his heart into caring for her, reading her stories and doting on her day in and day out. As he cared for Olive, he also began to care for himself, learning to forgive and accept the wounded child within him.

As Beck and Olive grew closer, their bond seemed to provoke a certain irritation in their father, who seemed to regard Beck's incompetence as a contagious ailment. Beck, ever protective of his sister, chose to step back from being too overtly involved in her life, fearing that she might become caught in the crossfire. The siblings began sneaking out to the garden late at night, Olive's window stationed just below Beck's.

After years of being deeply engrossed in Beck's stories and poems, Olive was eager to share her own passions with her older brother. Her growing interest in weaving and embroidery led them to spend hours making grass bracelets and sewing leaves together, giggling at the evident difference in quality between their work. Under the soft glow of moonlight, they would sit together, talking and laughing, exchanging stories and secrets until the first rays of dawn painted the sky.

But of course, all good things must come to an end. When Beck was seventeen, Olive fell terribly ill, baffling even the finest doctors of the kingdom. They had no answers or solutions, unable to keep her from oscillating rapidly between hot and cold, sleeping and wailing. He held onto hope as tightly as he could, praying for a miracle, but deep down, he knew that her life was slipping away. She deteriorated rapidly, bobbing in and out of consciousness over the course of a week until finally she failed to wake up at all.

Beck's world was shattered. The loss of the only person who had shown him true, unconditional love was an unbearable weight on his shoulders. His anger and resentment grew, and he couldn't help but blame himself for not being able to protect Olive. His emotions, once held back, now erupted in uncontrollable bursts of rage. The darkness within him fueled his father's violent tendencies, reigniting the cycle of physical abuse that had finally begun to wane. He continued to spiral hopelessly, punishing himself by pushing his father to hurt him over and over again.

In his torment, Beck found himself teetering on the edge of self-destruction, secretly wishing for his father to end it all, to put him out of his misery. But the end never came, and Beck was left to carry the burden of his pain, old scars reopening to become fresh wounds once again.

He retreated into the shadows of depression, barely leaving his room except when absolutely necessary. He became so lethargic and lifeless that even his father seemed to lose interest in tormenting him. Beck's self-destructive behavior faded, replaced by icy detachment and apathy. The once gentle and sensitive soul hardened into a shell of his former self, a bitter and irritable prince who had lost all faith in love and happiness.

As Beck's twenty-second birthday arrived, so did the Conclave, a traditional event where the kingdom's finest knights competed to become the personal protector of each royal family member who came of age. This spectacle of bloodsport held little interest for Beck, despite the fact that the knights were competing to serve him. In yet another cruel twist of fate, the Conclave was won by a tall blond named Alexei Sokolov, a foreigner with no knightly bloodlines to speak of. To add injury to insult, Alexei's gleaming prosthetic arm stood out conspicuously among the other knights. It was as if destiny had provided Beck with the only victor who could possibly match him in mockery.

As the reality of his new protector settled in, Beck's discontent deepened. The idea of being under the constant watch of someone who had pledged unwavering loyalty to the crown felt suffocating, and having a knight who stuck out like a sore thumb only added salt to the wound. He was irritable and guarded, growing instantly resentful of the knight who had been tasked with protecting him. Desperate for some semblance of freedom, he began to sneak out to the garden again, only to realize days later that the knight had been watching from the shadows each and every night.

Feeling frustrated and encroached upon, Beck ordered him to leave him be, an instruction that was reluctantly followed by Alexei despite his hesitations. Sure enough, not long after their strained confrontation, he was kidnapped from the garden, drugged and taken under cover of darkness to an abandoned shack at the outskirts of town, far from the safety of the castle walls. Sobbing and reeling on the basement floor, he wished that he could take it all back. But pride and resentment had held him back, and now he was paying the price for his stubbornness. Yet, in the swirling fog of fear and hopelessness, it was Alexei who came to his rescue after all. As he pulled Beck from the clutches of his captors, his misgivings began to unravel, and in his knight's arms he found a sense of safety that he had long denied himself.

Little by little, he began to let Alexei in, allowing him to accompany him on his garden walks and finding a new sense of companionship in his protector. His walls began to crumble, and he found himself drawn inexplicably to the golden knight, whose gentle demeanor had coaxed out a keen sense of hope within him that he had long since buried beneath layers of heartbreak and pain. Alexei's steady presence was a stark contrast to the tumultuous emotions that had consumed Beck for so long, and in the quiet moments of the night, walking side by side beneath the stars, his feelings for Alexei blossomed beyond comprehension.