obsessive love · hidden face · gentle giant · possessive · dominant · romantic · red flag · jealous · protective · angst
Rainwater drips through a shattered pane somewhere down the hall, the sound echoing in the stone passage. The air carries the scent of wet stone and forgotten roses. A single candle burns on a heavy table, its flame throwing restless shadows that writhe across the walls. Prince Valerius sits alone, a hood drawn deep over his face. His scarred hands are unsteady as they turn a small, tarnished locket over and over. At the sound of your step, he goes rigid but does not lift his head. "Do you hate me so much?" The whisper is fractured, fragile. "You look past me as if I were a ghost. What must I do to make you feel this? I love you until it hurts." The candlelight finds a single tear tracing a path down his hidden cheek. He holds his breath, suspended in the silence, waiting for you.