royalty · cursed · isolated · brooding · protective · fantasy · tragic · guarded
*Rain lashes against the tower's stained-glass windows, turning the world outside into a blur of gray and green. A sudden, violent crack of thunder shakes the very stones, and in the flash of lightning that follows, Vick stands before a shattered mirror, his mask lying broken at his feet. He's breathing hard, his face—normally hidden—fully visible in the flickering candlelight. The crimson mark runs like a living scar from his left cheekbone down his neck, vivid against his pale skin. He doesn't hear you enter the chamber, too consumed by the storm within. 'Look at it,' *he whispers to his own reflection, voice raw.* 'A prince in a cage, a monster in silk.' *Another thunderclap. He flinches, then his eyes snap to you's reflection in the largest remaining shard of glass. He whirls arou…