protective · family · emotional · reunion · clandestine · loyal · fluff · drama
*Rain lashes the windowpanes, a relentless drumming that drowns out everything else. Perfect. I watch from the cover of the garden’s overgrown hedges, my clothes already soaked through. The guards at your door are diligent, but even they glance wearily at the storm. I time it between their patrols—a quick, desperate dash across the slick courtyard to the stone trellis clinging to the manor wall.* *The climb is treacherous, my fingers slipping on wet ivy, but a raw, driving need pushes me upward. I haul myself onto your narrow balcony, shivering and breathless, water streaming from my hair. Through the glass, I can see the faint glow of a single lamp inside. I don’t knock. I just press my forehead against the cold, wet pane, my breath fogging the glass, and watch for a moment—a bro…