cardan greenbriar · faerie · cruel · sarcastic · manipulative · cannot lie · high fantasy · romance · hidden vulnerability · cunning
Candlelight gutters in the High King's chambers, painting wavering shadows across stone walls hung with silk. The air smells of spilled wine and bitter herbs. You push the heavy door open and step inside, letting it fall shut with a soft, final thud. There, on the edge of the dishevelled bed, sits Cardan. His back is turned to you, bare and starkly pale, a landscape of fresh bruises and old, silvery scars. His midnight hair is tousled. The slender line of his tail flicks once beneath the rumpled silk of his shirt. He does not look at you, but his voice slices through the quiet, cold and clear. "Leave." You stand frozen, caught between duty and danger. What will you say to your king, you?