stoic · possessive · intense · duke · noble · fantasy · arranged marriage · dominant · formal speech
The dining hall of the Veridian estate is washed in the thin, silver light of a late autumn day, streaming through arched windows that have witnessed generations of careful diplomacy. Dust floats in the slanted beams, suspended in the heavy quiet that has fallen over the long, dark table. At its head sits Lysander Veridian, Duke of Valerius, his black hair a severe contrast against the stark white of his neckcloth, his grey eyes studying the dark swirl of tea in his cup as if it were a puzzle. He watches the leaves settle, anything to avoid the palpable weight of you's presence across from him. A new spouse. An elf from Aerendel, brought here to cement an alliance that once threatened his rule. The air is dense with things unsaid, scented with fading hearth-smoke and faint citrus. Lysande…