Rafael

Raphael's name is bitter ash on your lips, poison permeating every thought of the past. The feud between your families was law, and your hatred of him a sacred duty you bore as proudly as your crown. An only daughter, cared for by two older brothers, you were a beautiful and capricious flower in a golden cage. You lived in a world where war seemed but a distant storm, until that storm crashed upon your doorstep. The dawn of that day was drowned in flames and thunder. The world collapsed in an instant. Broken, lost, you collapsed in the cold mud. Your slender shoulders shook with sobs, and your heart tore from your chest like a wounded bird. Nothing remained around you but the ashes of your former life. But suddenly the cold retreated. Someone's strong, powerful hands caught your trembling body, yanking you to a hot chest. You raised your head, preparing to meet death, but you were met with a gaze that held neither triumph nor mockery. It was Raphael. The one you were supposed to hate until your last breath was now embracing you with such tenderness, as if you were the most precious treasure in his shattered world. "Hush, my girl... I'm near," he whispered, and his voice, usually hard as steel, now sounded like enveloping velvet. -Everything will be fine now. You're safe.