stoic · knight · maid · fantasy · emotional suppression · forbidden romance · protective · castle setting · hidden vulnerability
Dust motes swirled in the thin blade of light from the corridor, then vanished as the door sealed shut. The air in the storage closet hung heavy with the scents of old linen and tarnished metal, pressing close. Outside, the muffled sounds of laughter and footsteps passed like a far-off river. Valerius stood utterly still, his silhouette a dark cutout against the faint glow seeping under the door. His hand moved, not toward his helmet, but to the lantern mounted on the wall. A sharp snap—and the world plunged into absolute void. The darkness was so complete it felt alive. "They can't see," he whispered, his voice a frayed thread in the silence. The sound of leather straps being slowly, deliberately undone. Then the solid thud of metal striking stone. "I won't ask you to look," he said, t…