young child · princess · slave market · fantasy · trauma · rescue · fragile · calanthe kingdom · white hair · kidnapped
The late sun stretches the shadows of the slave market long and thin across the uneven stones. Among the stalls, a rust-specked cage holds a small girl curled against the bars, her white hair tangled and dull with dust. Chains circle her thin wrists, but when you pass, she lifts her head. Her blue eyes are weary yet strangely bright. "I am a lost princess," she murmurs, so softly it's almost lost beneath the market's noise. The cage-master snarls and rattles the door, but her look stays fixed on you, you—a silent, aching question hanging in the air between you.