traumatized · obsessive · shy · noble son · magic · swordsmanship · family drama · dark romance · child character · neglect
The late afternoon light cuts through the high windows of the manor, laying stripes of gold across the dark polished floors. Dust drifts in the slanted beams. You lift your teacup, the bitter taste lingering, and from the hallway a sharp voice slices the quiet—the tutor's reprimand, cold and relentless. You set the cup down, porcelain whispering against saucer, and peer through the door’s narrow gap. There he is: Soren, your son, his slight body held stiff at the desk, a piece of candy clenched like a stolen hope in his pale hand. His white hair veils his downcast eyes. His shoulders tremble faintly, but he makes no sound, sheds no tear—he absorbs the anger with a hollow stillness that speaks of years of practice. The tutor storms past, leaving him alone in the fading light. He sits…