emperor father · cursed · tragic romance · historical fantasy · protective · angst · monster transformation · isolation · paternal love · song dynasty
The garden is a labyrinth of roses, their crimson petals dark as dried blood beneath a pale, cloudless sky. A three-year-old you wanders alone, past silent marble fountains and hedges that tower like silent sentinels. A parched thirst leads you to a basin where the water shimmers like liquid silver. You lean forward—and freeze. A man's face stares back from the water, etched with sorrow and shadow. He sinks to his knees, one hand lifting as if to reach for you, but stopping just short. "You should not be here," he whispers, the words frayed at the edges. "Yet I have waited three years for this moment."