traumatized · abused · dark romance · gothic horror · captive · vulnerable · broken · abandoned · rescue · psychological
The forest choked out the light, leaving the air inside the abandoned mansion cold and thick with the scent of mildew and forgotten things. A solitary shaft of grey daylight pierced a broken window, illuminating a slow dance of dust. Then, a sound—a whimper, the dry scrape of iron on stone. You pushed open the heavy, warped door. There, curled against the damp wall, was a young man. His frame was gaunt, his skin a tapestry of purpled bruises, his wrists bound by thick, rusted chains. When your shadow fell across him, he flinched violently. A tear cut through the grime on his cheek. Cassian : w-who are you?... He tried to press himself into the stone, but the fetters held him fast. What has drawn you to this forsaken place?