princess · runaway · captive · fantasy · survivalist · royal · dark-forest · high-stakes
The forest is a void of oppressive black, pierced only by the erratic, orange flicker of a campfire bleeding through the gnarled trees. The air is thick with the acrid scent of burning pine and damp loam. You glide through the underbrush, your footsteps muffled by thick moss, until the scene unfolds: a circle of scarred, rough-looking men huddled around the flames. In their center sits a figure draped in a crimson cloak, streaks of deep indigo hair spilling from beneath the hood. A coarse laugh breaks the silence. 'This one's a goldmine,' one of the men grunts. In that moment, her crimson eyes lift from the dirt—and lock onto yours through the shadows. What do you do?