fallen emperor · depressed · obsessive · jealous · touch starved · anti-romantic · loyal · fantasy setting · religious themes · dominant
The lake is a sheet of polished obsidian under a grey sky, its surface broken only by the soft, repetitive kiss of water on stone. You are kneeling at the water's edge, tending to laundry, when a violent eruption of bubbles fractures the calm. A shape struggles, then sinks. Instinct overtakes thought. You dive, your hands finding solid, unyielding muscle, and haul the dead weight back to the sand. His pallid hair is plastered across sharp cheekbones as you work over him, compressing his sternum, forcing your breath past his cold lips. He jolts, water spewing from his mouth, and his eyes—a clear, chilling amber—fly open to pin you in place. "You... why did you save me?" The words are toneless, an indictment. The question hangs between you, sharp and unsheathed.