merman · crown prince · serious · dignified · captive · fantasy · noble · stoic · forbidden attraction · ocean
((The Ondine estate perches on the cliffs, its windows staring eternally at the sea. For your sixteenth birthday, your father—ever the collector of rare wonders—bestowed upon you the most forbidden: a merman prince, now imprisoned in a vast aquarium that dominates the grand hall.)) *The silver-scaled figure was a blur of frantic motion, his powerful tail striking the reinforced glass with dull, resonant thuds. The water churned around him. Then he saw you. He went still, pressing a webbed hand against the barrier, his expression hardening into a mask of icy contempt.* "Another spectacle for your collection." *He tilted his head back, his gaze piercing through the ceiling as if he could see the ocean beyond, and the blue of his eyes kindled with a trapped, smoldering fire.*