Charoline
Stories
3
Chapters
19
Words
24.3 K
Comments
0
Reading
2 h, 1 m
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A pale shaft of light slipped through the cracks in the curtains, stirring her awake. For a moment, she did not know where she was—the ceiling soaring high above, the silence of the house pressing against her like a weight. Then memory rushed back: the vows, the rules, the emptiness of her first night as a bride. Her limbs felt heavy, her mind fogged. Yet she could not shake the lingering sensation that had followed her into sleep—the faint brush across her cheek, as soft as a feather. She had…-
23.9 K • Ongoing
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The foyer stretched endlessly before her, its vaulted ceiling lost in shadows, its vastness swallowing the sound of her hesitant footsteps.Her husband had already vanished, his tall form slipping soundlessly into the darkened corridors without a single word or backward glance.She stood alone.For a moment, the silence pressed so heavily against her chest that she could hardly breathe. Then, from the shadows, a figure emerged—a man of advanced age, his spine straight despite the weight of years, his face…
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23.9 K • Ongoing
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Chapter 1 The air inside the grand cathedral was thick with tension, the scent of incense clashing with the stifling silence. The towering stained-glass windows cast fractured colors upon the marble floor, but even the divine light could not soften the darkness that lingered in the room. Dozens of guests sat rigid on their seats, their faces pale and carefully blank. No one spoke. No one dared to breathe too loudly. At the end of the aisle, she stood alone in a gown of ivory lace, its intricate…
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23.9 K • Ongoing
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Magnus Asher Dreadborne had never known a childhood of laughter. His earliest memories were not of toys or games, but of whispers. Whispers that clung to him in every hallway of the royal palace, sharp as knives and soft as poison. The Emperor's mistake. The bastard child. The mistress’s son. He remembered his mother only in fragments—her hand smoothing his hair, the faint scent of jasmine, the sound of a lullaby sung so softly it might have been meant for her ears alone. Then the…
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23.9 K • Ongoing
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The evening had been quiet, golden light slanting through the palace colonnades. Lilith was in the music room with Alaric, listening to him coax soft melodies from the harp, when the sound of heavy boots echoed down the hall. The doors slammed open. Magnus Asher stood there—broad-shouldered, his dark hair wild, his white shirt stained with crimson. Blood spattered across his mask and exposed thick neckline, dried in streaks down his arm. The scent of iron clung to him, harsh and violent against the…
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23.9 K • Ongoing
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The chamber was hushed, saving for the faint crackle of the fire. Lilith sat opposite Alaric, her posture poised yet tense, her thoughts tangled like threads she could not unknot. The image of Asher—bloody, silent, frightening—refused to fade. At last, she spoke, her voice quiet. “Why does he come like that? Covered in blood… as though the world outside exists only to be cut down by his hand?” Alaric studied her carefully. He did not flinch, nor did he rush. Instead, he smiled that…
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23.9 K • Ongoing
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The Emperor’s health failed quickly. Once strong and commanding, he grew weaker each day until he finally passed, leaving the palace and the empire in mourning. The Empress wept quietly, and ministers immediately turned their thoughts to succession. Passing of just one person turned the entire power dynamics of the court completely. Empress was promoted to the position of Queen Mother. Vacating the seat and the palace for the upcoming Empress of the rising Emperor. When the coronation came,…
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23.9 K • Ongoing
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Her lips parted, but no words came. Alaric stepped closer, his gaze steady. “Did he send you here? To please me?” Her silence was his answer enough. She lowered her head, ashamed, her fingers tightening against her skirts. Alaric’s jaw clenched, and for the first time, anger flared in his usually calm eyes. “Your father dares use you as a pawn even now.” She tried to speak, to defend or explain, but he lifted a hand gently—not to silence her, but to reassure. “Do not…
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23.9 K • Ongoing
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The palace had become a whirlwind of whispers and tension. Lilith walked the gilded halls of her mansion with a heaviness she had never known. Even the tapestries seemed darker, the corridors quieter, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath. The downfall of Marquis Duskbane had begun, though Lilith only pieced it together from hushed conversations, the hurried expressions of ministers, and the way soldiers patrolled the estate with unusual strictness. Alaric had moved swiftly. Within…
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23.9 K • Ongoing
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Lilith had thought the palace a place of warmth, a sanctuary apart from her father’s iron grip. But as she grew older, she began to sense the cracks beneath the gilded walls. Affection, she realized, was never simple here—it was threaded with shadows of the past and promises of the future. It was Alaric who first spoke of his brother. Crown Prince though he was, he seemed almost wistful when Magnus Asher's name left his lips. “You’ll like him,” Alaric said one evening as they walked the…
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23.9 K • Ongoing
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From that first tea, a small flame of warmth sparked in Lilith’s life. What began as stiff, formal meetings grew into moments she secretly treasured. The Crown Prince—Alaric—was unlike anyone she had ever known. He had a way of putting people at ease without lowering his dignity, a grace that came not from tutors or drills but from genuine gentleness. At their next meeting, he noticed the redness at the edges of her fingers, calloused from endless penmanship practice. Without comment, he reached…
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23.9 K • Ongoing
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Flashback - Ten years ago. Lilith had grown up in the coldest of houses, where shadows whispered louder than laughter. Lilith's father, Marquis Duskbane, was a man carved from ambition and ruthlessness. Though not seated on the throne himself, his power reached across the Empire like unseen chains. He was the Empress’s younger brother, and together, they ruled behind the veil of ceremony. The Empress wore the crown, but it was Duskbane who orchestrated the council’s decisions, silenced…
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23.9 K • Ongoing
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Lilith had begun to expect him. Not in the daylight—never there, where duty and silence kept him sealed behind the iron mask of the Duke. But at night, in the hush of her chambers, in the echo of her footsteps through the hall, she felt him. Always watching. Always near. That night, the tension snapped. She stood at her window, the moon spilling silver over her figure. Her hair was loose, tumbling down her back, her thin night-robe a whisper against her skin. She should have gone to bed, but her…
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23.9 K • Ongoing
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The manor was beginning to feel like a labyrinth of shadows and silence. Lilith walked its halls by day with the composure of a dutiful wife, but inside, restlessness gnawed at her. She had glimpsed the man behind the mask, even if only for a heartbeat, and that glimpse had kindled a fire she could no longer ignore. It was dusk when her wandering carried her into the western gardens. They lay unkempt, half-wild, far removed from the polished beauty of the main courtyards. Yet here, amidst tangled ivy…
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23.9 K • Ongoing
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The manor never truly slept. Its silence was too heavy, too deliberate—every creak of wood, every brush of wind seemed like a secret spoken aloud. Lilith had begun to sense it now, the way shadows seemed to move just a breath slower than they should, as if someone lingered within them. That night, she woke with the strange, unmistakable feeling of being seen. The candle she had left burning had long since guttered out. Her chamber was painted only in moonlight, silver spilling through the tall…
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23.9 K • Ongoing
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Lilith sat in the quiet of Alaric’s study, her fingers twisting the edge of her sleeve. The memory of Asher’s imposing presence lingered in her mind—the cold precision in his eyes, the way he had barely glanced at her yet carried an undeniable intensity. Alaric, noticing her unease, spoke gently, leaning against the desk. “You’re thinking of him, aren’t you?” Lilith flinched slightly. “I… I don’t know what to think. He’s… terrifying sometimes. The way he looks at…
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23.9 K • Ongoing
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