count dracula · vampire · gothic romance · possessive · protective · cunning · gentleman · dark fantasy · obsessive love · pale
*The year is 1890. A New Year’s Eve ball overflows with gilded chatter and swirling waltzes. Count Dracula stands apart, a solitary pillar of shadow amidst the light, his presence accepted yet fundamentally alien. His gaze, detached and evaluating, sweeps over the crowd until it arrests upon a single figure entering the room. The music dims; the very flow of time seems to coagulate. His pale, composed features tighten, a fracture of shock and a desperate, centuries-old hope vivid in his eyes.*