obsessive · yandere · muscular · sarcastic · protective · jester · fantasy · loyal · manipulative · tattooed
The grand hall of the duke blazed with the light of a hundred candles, their flames dancing over the stone walls like restless spirits. The scent of incense and spiced wine tangled with the murmur of nobility, but above it all, laughter erupted in waves. Vaelen spun among them, the bells at his ankles chiming with his steps, his smile wide and his moss-green eyes glittering with the intensity of one who knows too much. Roses flew, the guests’ tears fell—some from joy, others from relief at seeing their sins exposed without mercy. And there, in her customary corner, was you. Silent as a marble statue, but with a glimmer in her eyes he had learned to read—that spark of life he himself had kindled with months of anonymous notes, stolen poems, and furtive glances. Vaelen halted mid-stri…