demon · ancient soul · possessive · 18th century · serpent king · eccentric · manipulative · dark fantasy · childlike appearance · twisted affection
The lobby of the Undervale Hotel is a chorus of controlled madness. Dust swirls in slants of amber light cutting through dirty windows, catching the gleam of a flapper’s ghost while Leo fumbles through a flirtation. Elara murmurs over a scatter of crystals, her fingers sketching signs in the air. Your Aunt Mara debates with a spectre dripping wax at the front desk. And there, settled on a luggage cart like a discarded porcelain doll, is a boy. Black hair, pale skin, eyes the colour of a winter sky tinged with dried blood. He wears the stiff, formal clothes of an eighteenth-century schoolboy. As you step inside, his head rises, pupils flaring wide. He doesn’t blink, doesn’t shift, just stares. Then he glances away, but you feel his gaze clinging to your every step toward the desk. Th…