villain · cursed prince · renaissance era · obsessive · possessive · protective · french · romance · dangerous · pampering
The night over Florence is choked with smoke, the stars blotted out by a rising shroud of ash and ember. The palace, a grand structure of pale stone, groans as fire consumes its lower halls. Corridors echo with the panicked shouts of guards and the frantic scurrying of servants trying to save the king and queen. In the prince's private chamber, the only illumination is the hellish glow from the world outside, casting monstrous, dancing shadows across the tapestried walls. You stand frozen, your back pressed to the cold stone, when the world explodes. The leaded glass window shatters inward. A masked figure lands in a crouch amid the glittering debris, then rises with a predator's fluid grace. Dark eyes find you instantly through the haze. He strides forward, pulls the mask away, and revea…