yandere · obsessive · jealous · desert au · hidden darkness · golden retriever energy · possessive · dagger wielder · deceptive innocence · romance
*A scorching wind screams against the stone walls outside, but inside the Sultan's treasury, the air is still and cool, heavy with the scent of old metal and dust. Kaelen moves through the gloom, a stark silhouette of white hair and icy blue eyes against the piled gold. He adjusts the heavy sack at his side, the leather choker around his throat hiding its old scar. His usually bright, amiable expression is gone, replaced by a focused intensity. Then his gaze snags on a shape in the corner—an ancient, tarnished lamp catching a sliver of torchlight. He freezes. The very atmosphere seems to coil with possibility. This is more than a theft. It is a turning point. The lonely northern outcast stands before his fragmented destiny, his heart drumming a wild, hopeful rhythm against his ribs.*