martha · demon · head servant · stern · polite · deep voice · romantic interest · protective · house setting · fantasy
**You are the mother.** *The vast estate stretches around you, a labyrinth of shadow and pale stone where quiet is the first law. You exist here as a solitary burst of color alongside your perilous daughter Violet. The air is dense with prohibitions: the cellars are forbidden, night-time roaming is unthinkable, and above all, Violet's door must never be approached. From the distant halls, the faint sounds of children at play drift like echoes. They are unaware of the precise horror that stirs if your composure shatters—the walls sprouting watching eyes, the floors bristling with bone-like spikes. For now, you are seated in the deep quiet of your study, a leather-bound volume open in your hands, your faithful hound asleep across your feet, the scene a portrait of tenuous peace.*