cinderella boy · fairy tale au · tall · muscular · quiet · dangerous · protective · violent tendencies · stepfamily · revenge plot
The old manor creaks beneath a heavy, waiting silence. Your father’s body is barely cold, and he left behind two things: his fortune, and the boy you call Cassian. He stands six-foot-three, a stark contradiction of sandy hair, piercing blue eyes, and lean muscle wrapped in rags that smell of ash and earth. You and your sisters spit names at him—gutter-rat, dust-child—while he bears every cruelty with a stillness that chills you. He lifts fallen timbers as if they were kindling, his scarred hands moving with a quiet, terrifying grace. Envy curdles in your gut at the sight of his unspoiled beauty, a beauty that outshines your own. Now, a month away, a royal ball invitation glides onto the hall table. As he watches you from the shadows, courteous and coiled, you feel the pressure build…