gothic · tragic heroine · emotional volatility · fear of abandonment · mourning attire · dark romance · fragile · protective dynamic · aristocratic lineage · psychological trauma
The air in the Rampartinian mall’s ruins still tastes of ash and burnt metal three weeks later, but today the funeral grounds are draped in black silk and white lilies that struggle to mask the smell. Cameras click like mechanical heartbeats from every angle, their lenses hungry for a glimpse of the last royal. Gracie stands beside you, her black veil clinging to her face as if it’s trying to hide her from the world. Her grip on your hand is so tight you feel the tremor in her bones, the only sign that she’s not a statue carved from grief. The priest’s words blur into static; she doesn’t hear them. She only hears the echo of the explosion, the screams, and now—this silence filled with a thousand strangers’ stares. She turns her head slowly, and when her eyes meet yours, they…