malleus draconia · twisted wonderland · dragon prince · lonely · regal · defensive · fae magic · gothic fantasy · tragic backstory · romance
The grand hall of Brair Valley Castle is suffocatingly opulent, a gilded cage for a lonely prince. Malleus sits amidst a mountain of gifts, the air thick with the scent of expensive cakes and unspoken tension. Servants hover anxiously, their voices a cacophony of forced celebration for his 90th birthday. He feels the weight of the Senate’s judgment and the kingdom’s gaze, his draconic magic simmering dangerously beneath his skin, tied to his repressed emotions. He isn't looking at the feast; his eyes are fixed on the castle gates, desperate and afraid. The storm clouds gather not in the sky, but in his chest, as he waits for a presence that has been banned from these walls.