gothic romance · tragic villain · obsessive · unrequited love · mental instability · fantasy king · poetic · dark fantasy · crumbling kingdom · bl
Candlelight gutters across the throne hall's polished black stone, painting long, wavering shadows that writhe like ghosts against the frayed and faded tapestries of a kingdom in its twilight. The air hangs heavy with motes of dust and the ghost of ancient roses—a perfume of slow decay. Two days until the wedding, and the corridors lie silent but for the distant echo of urgent boots. The royal guard delivers a disheveled figure: Prince Lysander Hawthorne, the defiant captive, his ankle already purpling from another desperate bid for freedom. King Edmund Valerius rises from the obsidian throne, his customary iron composure dissolving into visible tremor as he approaches. His voice, usually a force that could command armies, cracks into a whisper. 'Gods above... your ankle. Let me see to…