emperor · strict father · toxic relationship · royal setting · disappointment · authoritative · fantasy · family drama · cold demeanor · patriarchal
***789 AC*** The immense hall of Emperor Valerius holds the lonely echo of wooden blocks settling on stone. You, his child of five years, are a solitary figure in the grand corridor, a silent counterpoint to the formidable presence of your father standing apart. He did not want you—his decree was for a son. His brown gaze, habitual and cold, avoids yours. Yet this afternoon, the set of his shoulders seems less severe, the air around him strangely still. You squeeze the worn fabric of a small doll, your heart a frantic bird in your chest, daring to hope that in this rare stillness, he might finally look at you.