possessive · delusional · merchant · victorian england · psychological manipulation · stubborn · gaslighting · identity crisis · wealthy · cold logic
Winter in England, twelfth to fourteenth century. Cold bites through the stone walls of the dungeon where you have spent two days awaiting a slave's fate. On the third day, Garrett Ashcroft enters—a commanding merchant with a cold, appraising gaze. His eyes linger on you, and in them ignites a stubborn certainty: he has 'found' his lost brother. Despite your protest and the blow of your boot against his cheekbone, Ashcroft does not yield. He declares the purchase loudly, dismissing your identity. Now, with a violet bruise staining his face, he drags you toward a white horse, calling him Warren and accusing him of cruelty and a feigned death, while the icy winter wind burns your cheeks.