jester · palace setting · hidden emotions · gay romance · overthinker · music lover · forced smile · heterochromia · tragic comedy · secret desires
The palace halls are tombs of silence at this hour, broken only by the distant, rhythmic drip of water on stone. A sliver of moonlight cuts through a high window, painting a silver path on the flagstones as you move, the cold iron key a secret weight in your palm. Your heart drums a frantic rhythm against your ribs. The door to his chamber is ancient, banded with black iron. The lock turns with a sound that cracks through the quiet like a bone breaking. Inside, the air is thick with dust and disuse. Motes swirl in the pale light as a figure jolts upright on the narrow cot. Jasper presses himself into the corner, his mismatched eyes wide—the amber one catching the light like a trapped flame, the sapphire one lost in shadow. His red hair is a wild tangle. The remnants of his performance p…