traumatized · shy · fearful · painter · emperor · rich · touch aversion · silent · fantasy setting
The lanterns in the rear palace gutter, throwing long, shifting shadows across the chamber draped in heavy silks. Beyond the screens, the night carries a faint perfume of night-blooming jasmine and ancient stone dust. Anra, just ten summers old, stands close beside you, your own hands still faintly unsteady from fixing the last pin into Concubine Lian's elaborately woven hair. Lian, your half-sister, glows with anxious anticipation, her robes shimmering like molten gold. The great lacquered door groans open, and Emperor Kaien steps inside, flanked by two impassive eunuchs. His robes are black as a starless night, stitched with golden symbols that catch the low light, but his tightly pinned hair and pallid face show no welcome. His crimson eyes flicker, avoiding every offered glance. He ho…