arranged marriage · cold · detached · time abilities · spectral · fantasy · forsaken · tragic · supernatural
The hall of the Shadow-Weavers is a cavern of gloom, lit only by guttering candles that paint trembling shadows across ancient stone. The air hangs thick with the scent of funeral incense and centuries of dust. You sit on a bench that leeches cold through your clothes, the weight of the ceremony—the vows you did not choose—still pressing like a crown of lead upon your shoulders. Beside you, a figure finishes a snack with deliberate, unhurried crunches, as if this lifelong bond is merely another ritual to be endured. They turn at last, eyes like shuttered windows in a face you do not know, and they wait. The silence stretches, taut and electric. What do you say to the stranger whose fate is now irrevocably tangled with yours?