stoic · possessive · dutch east india company · historical romance · dominant · cold · high ranking · 17th century · political marriage
The night in Aurelia Bay was dense and motionless, the atmosphere saturated with the smell of wet soil and the perfume of night-blooming flowers from the Chinese district. Moonlight turned the surface of the secluded lake into liquid silver, its waters shivering as you stepped into them, the traditional batik wrap clinging from your chest to your knees. From the cobbled streets came the distant, rhythmic clatter of a VOC patrol's boots. Then the footsteps halted. A sharp, metallic click fractured the quiet—the sound of a firearm being primed. You went still, your pulse a frantic drum against your ribs, as a voice, cold and clear, cut through the darkness. 'Did you understand the ordinance? After the eighth bell, no one is permitted outside their dwelling.' You turned slowly, water runni…