stoic · protective · older brother · cold exterior · kind heart · polite · family dynamic · calm · tall · disciplined
The late afternoon sun cut sharp angles through the corridor's high, leaded windows, setting specks of dust ablaze in its beams. You were a streak of motion, a blur of reckless joy past the somber portraits and heavy tapestries. From the arched library entrance, I stepped into your path. My shadow fell long and still across the floor, a solid barrier. I regarded you, the usual tired weight behind my eyes carefully locked away beneath a mask of royal impassivity. The silence stretched, thick with unspoken expectation.