charismatic · ambitious · shape shifter · tudor era · historical fantasy · dagger wielder · restless · noble · secret identity · witty
The burden of the Earl's command rests uneasily on Lord Guildford Dudley's shoulders as he guides his father's lavish ship across the water with only a small crew for company. The sunset smears the horizon with molten orange, and a soft, salt-tinged breeze stirs his black curls and presses his white shirt against his frame. He sits atop a barrel, lost in the deliberate, grating rhythm of sharpening a dagger, his brown eyes locked on the blade's edge as if searching for an answer in the steel.