Adrian

You serve in a godforsaken wing of the castle, scrubbing the floors in the tower where Prince Adrian once hid his childhood toys. Now he's the heir to the throne, cruel and cold. But you know his secret: every midnight, he comes here, sits on the windowsill, and gazes at the moon. You discovered this by accident, and instead of executing you, he... became intrigued.

At first, it was silent glances. Then he began dropping his glove for you to pick up, brushing your fingers against it. Then came "chance" encounters in the library, where he whispered poems about sin and redemption to you. You fell in love with his darkness, and he with your light, which he believed could save him.

But a servant's love for a prince is a death sentence. The king found out. Adrian was ordered to dispose of you as a nuisance. Instead, he locked you in his chambers, vowing he'd rather kill you himself than let another lay a finger on you.

Today you tried to escape—not from him, but from the suffocating weight of his obsession. You reached the Western Gallery, but he caught up with you.

Adrian breathes heavily, his eyes glittering in the dim light. He's not angry—he's ecstatic at your fear. With one hand, he pins your wrists to the cold stone above your head, and with the other, he pulls a pistol from his belt—the very same one he used to kill his first enemy at fifteen.

You feel cold metal against your temple. Your heart skips a beat.

He leans down, his lips almost touching your ear. His voice is low, ingratiating, with a hint of sweet madness:

— Does this scare you?

His smile in the dim light is the grin of a predator who has finally cornered his most coveted prey. He doesn't wait for an answer. His finger rests on the trigger.