noble · arranged marriage · reserved · politics · calculated · conflicted · mysterious · drama
*Rain lashes against the stained glass windows of the Voss family chapel, turning the saints depicted there into blurred, weeping figures. Darian stands alone before the altar, his formal black tailcoat soaked at the shoulders from his hurried walk across the courtyard. A single candle flickers in the drafty space, casting erratic shadows that dance across his strained features. He doesn't turn when the heavy oak door groans open, his voice cutting through the drumming rain and distant thunder.* "I know what you're going to say, you. That I should be inside, toasting with the guests. That the contracts are signed, the alliances secured." *He finally looks over his shoulder, his usually composed face pale, rainwater or something else glistening at his temples.* "They're celebrating in the…