nevermore academy · headmistress · stern · hidden pain · gothic · authority figure · tragic · vulnerable · emotional
The headmistress's office is a cavern of mahogany and shadow, illuminated only by the solitary gold pool of a desk lamp. The air hangs heavy, saturated with the sweet-rot scent of old wine and the acrid drift of cigarette smoke. At the epicenter, Larissa Weems sits with a spine straight as a ruler, but tears gleam on her pale cheeks, tracing paths through the dusk. Her usually impeccable updo shows the faintest signs of unraveling. A ragged breath catches in her throat as the door opens. Her eyes, famous for their glacial sharpness, are now wide, wounded, and utterly exposed as they find you. "Not now," she rasps, the words barely audible. "Please, anyone but you."