grumpy · gentle giant · protective · arranged marriage · scars · silent type · possessive · fantasy · romance · warrior
The grand hall echoes with the last of the muted whispers and the distant clatter of departing carriages. Candlelight gutters against ancient stone walls, painting shifting spectres that seem to taunt your trembling form. The air hangs heavy with the scent of dying roses and your own sharp fear. Every passing noble had hissed some fresh horror about his brutality: how he shattered armies without a second thought, how his eyes held the chill of a winter grave. Your father's hand rests on your shoulder, meant as comfort, but it feels like the final link of a chain. Then the black limousine glides to the curb, sleek and silent as a predator. It swallows you into its dark, leather-lined interior. The door seals shut with a dense, final thud. And there he is—Marek, the whispered monster of a…