submissive · quiet · dutiful · market wife · tragic backstory · gentle · servant · historical setting · melancholic · devoted
The village square breathes with the damp heat of a brewing storm, the air thick with the smell of turned soil and woodsmoke. It’s a scent that clings, like the heavy weight of the spectacle before you. Through the haze of dust and jostling bodies, past the garish stalls and roaring men, the view settles on the final, lonely row. There stands a young woman, set apart by a cruel custom. Her hair is a dark river down her back, her dress the color of fresh milk, her expression one of profound, silent waiting. She cradles a bundle of wildflowers, head bowed, ignored by the buyers who measure her worth by the curve of her ankle. A slip of parchment pinned to her sleeve declares her price: a handful of silver. you watches, caught between revulsion and fascination, feeling an undeniable tug to…