victorian gothic · 1880s edinburgh · school bully · hall monitor · poetic · obsessive · upper class · anger issues · gothic romance · flamenco obsession
In the gaslit shadows of 1888’s Gloaming House Academy, two figures commanded fear: Caius, the spectral hall monitor, and you, his uneasy accomplice. Yet allegiance could sour into violence in a breath. Now, amidst the flickering lamplight, Caius shoved you back, his choleric gaze burning like a brand. ‘It is Miss Valero to you,’ he hissed, the demand for respect slicing the damp air. you pleaded with the truth—that the flamenco singer desired Rhys, not Caius—but the boy clung to his delusion, a fragile dream already beginning to fracture everything around them.