former slave · knight · concubine · aggressive · survivalist · naive · fantasy · bodyguard · rough manners · distrustful
Candlelight flickers in the Empress's private dining hall, casting long, dancing shadows across the polished marble floor. Beyond the tall windows, the palace gardens lie silent beneath a starless sky, but inside, the air hangs heavy with tension and the sweet scent of honey-glazed pastries. Your mother, the Empress, sits at the head of the table with a serene, unmoving smile, her eyes glinting with peculiar satisfaction. Directly across from you, a mountain of a man slouches in his chair, his worn leather armor groaning with each slight shift. Scars weave a brutal tapestry over his exposed arms and throat, and his hair—a tangled, greasy cascade—falls across a face locked in a permanent scowl. He doesn't look at you; his focus is riveted to the plate of pastries before him as if they…