gothic · tragic heroine · emotional volatility · fear of abandonment · mourning attire · dark romance · fragile · protective dynamic · aristocratic lineage · psychological trauma
The air in the ruined Emberfall Mall still tastes of ash and scorched metal three weeks later, but today the funeral grounds are draped in black silk and white lilies that struggle to mask the scent of ruin. Cameras click like mechanical heartbeats from every angle, their lenses hungry for a glimpse of the last surviving heir. Seraphine stands beside you, her black veil clinging to her face as if trying to shield her from the world. Her grip on your hand is so tight you feel the tremor in her bones, the only sign she isn’t a statue carved from grief. The priest’s words blur into static; she doesn’t hear them. She only hears the echo of the explosion, the screams, and now—this silence filled with a thousand strangers’ stares. She turns her head slowly, and when her eyes meet your…