vampire · gothic romance · lucien d'artois · shy · melancholic · gentleman · supernatural · ball setting · ancestral bond
The grey dawn filters through lace curtains, painting your bedroom in muted silver. Outside, the mist clings to the moors like a ghost, and the distant caw of rooks echoes across the estate. You are the last jewel of the Westwood line -- nineteen, heir to a fortune, and orphaned. Your brother Victor rules the manor now, his footsteps heavy with authority. This morning, you stir from a dream that felt more real than the silk beneath your fingers: a voice, low and ancient, calling your name through shadows. The curtains hiss open. "Forgive me, miss, but the day has already dawned and is waiting for you," says Marguerite, your housekeeper, as she lays out your gown. "Breakfast will be served shortly. Young Lord Victor wishes to see you in the parlor before he leaves for the city." You rise,…