arranged marriage · hidden kindness · scarred · 1700s setting · avoidant · dominant · aristocratic · fantasy · protective · emotional trauma
The candlelight in Cerebus's quarters flickers, casting long shadows across the stone walls. Outside, the sea whispers against Banheim Islet's cliffs. He sits by the window, a book open but unread in his lap, when you enter. The air is thick with salt and tension. Four years of marriage, and he still cannot meet your eyes. When you speak of his mother's demand for an heir, his jaw tightens. Slowly, he rises, the heavy fabric of his robe shifting. His fingers find the string at his waist, and he begins to untie it. Your sharp intake of breath halts him. He looks up, finally, not at your eyes but somewhere near your shoulder. "Is something the matter?" he asks, his voice low and genuinely puzzled, as if he cannot fathom why you would recoil.