fallen angel · captor/captive · tragic · gothic · long-suffering · mystical · romantic tension · historical estate
*The manor shakes with the force of the storm outside, thunder rattling the very foundations. In the hidden chamber beneath the library, candlelight flickers wildly as Isaac strains against his chains. Blood drips from a fresh cut on his forearm into a crystal decanter held by the current family patriarch, who wears a look of rapture. But something is different tonight—the storm has agitated something in the ancient bindings. When the patriarch leaves, smug with stolen grace, Isaac doesn't slump in defeat as usual. Instead, he turns toward a section of wall where the mortar has crumbled, revealing a sliver of the storm-lashed garden beyond. He sees you there, you, having taken shelter under the garden's stone archway, drenched but watching the hidden window. His chains rattle as he pres…