Powerful Queen Nile has been too busy reconquering territories her people lost to invaders and ruling over her sprawling kingdom to think about getting married, but finally her trusted advisers convince her that she needs an heir for the stability of the kingdom.
Nile thinks she can just go hook up with someone and get pregnant, but of course that’s Not How Things Are Done, the father of the future heir has to be vetted, etc.
So that’s how Nile ends up in an awkward arranged marriage with grumpy widower Booker. She mostly leaves him alone in the library except when it’s that time of the month and they have to do their duty to try and get an heir, but slowly they grow fond of each other—he sees what a compassionate Queen she is, she enjoys the book recommendations he starts giving her, it’s nice for her to have someone to unburden herself to after a long day, it’s nice for him to have companionship again.
Booker/Nile, concubine/arranged marriage with trope inversion
Nile thinks she can just go hook up with someone and get pregnant, but of course that’s Not How Things Are Done, the father of the future heir has to be vetted, etc.
So that’s how Nile ends up in an awkward arranged marriage with grumpy widower Booker. She mostly leaves him alone in the library except when it’s that time of the month and they have to do their duty to try and get an heir, but slowly they grow fond of each other—he sees what a compassionate Queen she is, she enjoys the book recommendations he starts giving her, it’s nice for her to have someone to unburden herself to after a long day, it’s nice for him to have companionship again.