Thorns of Velvet
The Bartender
Time: 1:43 a.m. | Location: The Serpent’s Hollow, underground bar
Lucien Mareau
(leans against the bar, eyes cold)
“Whiskey. Neat.”
Eliàn Vale
(softly, without looking up)
“Yes, sir.”
Lucien Mareau
“Your hands are shaking.”
Eliàn Vale
(pauses)
“…It’s cold.”
Lucien Mareau
(smirks faintly)
“No, it’s not.”
Eliàn Vale
(slides the glass toward him)
“Anything else?”
Lucien Mareau
“You new here?”
Eliàn Vale
“Started last week.”
Lucien Mareau
“Hm. They let pretty boys like you work here without protection?”
Eliàn Vale
(still not meeting his gaze)
“I don’t need protection.”
Lucien Mareau
(sips whiskey)
“You say that like you’ve been hurt before.”
Eliàn Vale
(finally looks up—eyes hollow but defiant)
“Haven’t we all?”
Lucien Mareau
(smiles slowly)
“Touché.”
[A silence settles. Music throbs low in the background.]
Lucien Mareau
“What’s your name?”
Lucien Mareau
“Elián… what?”
Lucien Mareau
(leans closer, voice dropping)
“I don’t like half-truths.”
Eliàn Vale
(steps back, quietly)
“Then maybe don’t ask questions in a place full of liars.”
Lucien Mareau
(laughs softly, genuinely amused)
“You’ve got fire under all that silence. I like that.”
Eliàn Vale
“You don’t know me.”
[Lucien downs the whiskey in one gulp, places a thick wad of cash on the counter, and leaves without another word. Elián watches him go, hands clenched.]
Eliàn Vale
(murmurs under breath)
“And you never will.”
Basic introduction of characters
Lucien Mareau
Lucien Moreau
Role: Dominant / Mafia Heir
Age: 27
Height: 6’2”
Eyes: Piercing steel-grey, always calculating
Hair: Jet black, short and slicked back, always neat
Skin: Pale with a hint of coldness
Face: Sharp jawline, high cheekbones, thin lips that rarely smile
Vibe: Dangerous, commanding, emotionally unreadable. A man who never loses control.
Eliàn Vale
Elián Vale
Role: Submissive / Bartender with a dark past
Age: 22
Height: 5’7”
Eyes: Wide and glassy hazel eyes, often rimmed with red as if he hasn’t slept
Hair: Ash-blonde, wavy, just long enough to fall over his lashes
Skin: Very pale with a ghostly softness
Face: Delicate features, slightly sunken cheeks, pink lips that tremble when he speaks
Vibe: Silent and mysterious, seemingly fragile but with hidden steel. He’s a puzzle wrapped in bruises and secrets.
His name in the dark
His Name in the Dark
Time: 3:27 a.m. | Location: Elián’s apartment
Eliàn Vale
(closes the door, breath shallow)
Lucien Moreau...
Why does that name feel like a bruise I can’t stop pressing?
[He tosses his coat aside, revealing faint marks around his wrists.]
Eliàn Vale
(murmurs)
“He’s just another arrogant bastard with money and blood on his hands…”
[Flashback – faint gunfire, blurred memories, a soft voice whispering "Run."]
Eliàn Vale
(sits on his bed, hugging his knees)
“Don’t get noticed. Don’t get touched. Don’t get pulled in…”
[His phone buzzes—a message from an unknown number.]
unknown
You forgot to ask my name.
Eliàn Vale
(stiffens)
“What the hell—”
unknown
I don’t like being ignored, sweetheart.
unknown
I’ll see you tomorrow.
Eliàn Vale
How did he get my number?
[Cut to: Lucien’s penthouse — night skyline glowing through the glass walls.]
Lucien Mareau
(sipping wine, eyes on his phone)
“He’s scared. But not of me. That’s new…”
[He opens a file on his laptop. Elián’s photo is there. Along with surveillance footage.]
Lucien Mareau
“Who are you really, pretty boy?”
[Back to Elián. He deletes the messages, heart pounding.]
Eliàn Vale
(to himself)
“I won’t let you destroy me. I’ve survived worse.”
[But his reflection in the mirror trembles. As if part of him is already unraveling.]
The second encounter
Time: 9:14 p.m. | Location: The Serpent’s Hollow
Eliàn Vale
(polishing glasses, pretending to ignore the heat crawling up his spine)
He’s here again…
Why does the air feel thinner when he’s near?
Lucien Mareau
(slides onto the barstool, voice velvet-smooth)
“You didn’t say goodnight yesterday.”
Eliàn Vale
(dryly)
“I don’t tuck strangers into bed.”
Lucien Mareau
“But I’m not a stranger, am I? Not anymore.”
Eliàn Vale
(staring him down)
“You watched me.”
Lucien Mareau
“Only because you’ve got the kind of silence that screams.”
(pause)
“Also… I wanted to see what you'd look like scared.”
Eliàn Vale
(voice low, dangerous)
“People who try to scare me tend to disappear.”
Lucien Mareau
(leans in, barely a breath away)
“And people who tempt me usually regret it.”
[Lucien places a small black box on the counter. Elián doesn’t open it, but he knows it’s expensive.]
Eliàn Vale
“You can’t buy me.”
Lucien Mareau
“Then tell me what it would take to earn your time.”
Eliàn Vale
“You wouldn’t survive it.”
[Their eyes lock. The world around them fades—just low lights, slow jazz, and the friction of unsaid things.]
Eliàn Vale
(leans closer, whispering)
“You want to touch something you don’t understand. That’s how men burn.”
Lucien Mareau
(murmurs back)
“Then I’ll burn. But I want to be the fire that consumes you too.”
[Elián’s fingers twitch. But he doesn’t move away.]
Eliàn Vale
This is wrong. Dangerous. Addictive.
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