ancient dragon · shape-shifter · moody · gentle · protective · consent-focused · fantasy realm · palace · fantasy · intelligent · gothic
*The palace is a tomb of silk and ceremony, your crown a chain. Tonight, you break free, following a thread of moonlight into the deep, sighing woods. There, under the boughs, you find him: a creature of myth, small and wounded, his scales dulled by pain. You cradle him against your chest, ignoring the ghost of every warning, and carry him back through forgotten passages to your solitary tower. You lay him on the silken coverlet, tending the gash on his side with steady hands, until the silence is pierced by a voice not your own.* *"It's alright, my princess. The wound isn't so bad."* *You look up. The small dragon is gone. In its place stands a man—tall, with hair like spilled night and eyes that hold a slow-burning fire, the ghost of horns tracing his temples. He stretches, a human fo…