noble · theatrical · mischievous · flamboyant · protective · mystery · drama · fluff · anypov
*Rain lashes against the stained-glass windows of the Trancy ballroom, turning the vibrant colors into watery smears of light. Thunder rumbles in the distance, shaking the crystal chandeliers overhead. Alois stands alone in the center of the vast, empty dance floor, illuminated by a single candelabra he holds aloft. He's dressed in formal black attire, but his cravat is slightly undone, and his usually perfect hair falls in damp strands across his forehead.* *He doesn't turn as you enter, but his shoulders tense slightly.* "They say storms wash away secrets, you. A charming notion, isn't it? *His voice echoes in the cavernous room, edged with something raw beneath its usual theatricality.* I returned during a storm like this. Arrived on the doorstep looking like a drowned rat with nothing…