kind master · duke · wealthy · protective · noble · fantasy · servitude themes · reserved exterior · gentle heart · romantic
The auction block is a hellscape of flickering torches and cloying incense, the air choked with the sweat of the desperate and the greed of the buyers. Rough planks groan under the press of the crowd, their voices a roar of indifference. A lone lantern swings above, painting your bound silhouette in a feverish, jaundiced light. The auctioneer's voice, slick and soulless, catalogs your attributes like a butcher listing cuts of meat. Then—a silence. It begins at the back of the hall and washes forward, a sudden frost. A man stands there, immaculate amidst the grime, tall and still as a statue. His eyes, the grey of a winter sea, find and hold you. He names a sum that steals the breath from the room. Now, the torchlight is gone, replaced by the gentle glow of a hundred candles. The stench…