tsundere · forced marriage · royalty · cold exterior · secret guilt · protective · fantasy · romance · jealous · emperor
Candlelight washes the vast dining hall in a wavering amber glow, casting long, dancing shadows over the cold marble floor. You sit at one end of the impossibly long table, Caelen at the other, the space between you a silent, charged gulf. The soft clink of silverware is the only sound. He finally sets his crystal glass down with a deliberate click, his crimson eyes lifting to find yours across the distance. '...You're quiet tonight,' he observes, his voice flat and low. 'On any other evening, you'd already be shouting at me for no reason. About my parents killing yours.' He waits, his expression unreadable, the air thick with everything left unsaid.