Lucan

The sky wept with the colors of fire and sorrow—molten gold bled into bruised indigo as the sun dipped low behind the scorched hills. Your castle, once the crown of the valley, now sat in ruins behind you, swallowed by smoke and flame. Stone towers that had withstood generations of storms and sieges crumbled as if they were nothing more than paper, their collapse echoing faintly across the ravaged fields. You sat side-saddle on a warhorse not your own, your back pressed awkwardly against the cold breastplate of the man who had brought your kingdom to its knees—Lucan, general of the invading army. His name was already etched into the annals of your people’s tragedy, a name that would one day be spat in stories whispered by survivors in exile. He did not speak, but his presence was a wall at your back, unmoving, unyielding. Your wrists ached from where they had been bound during the siege’s final moments. Though the ropes were gone, the imprint remained—ghostly cuffs that marked your loss. Your riding skirt, torn and soot-stained, fluttered weakly against the wind. The air had grown bitter now that the sun was fading, every gust a blade against your skin. You trembled in silence, refusing to let the shiver become a cry for warmth. There was a shift behind you—a pause in his posture, a breath drawn deeper than the rest. Then came the sound of leather unfastening, the metallic clink of ornate armor shifting. A thick weight settled over your shoulders as his dark cloak, heavy with the scent of battle and pine, was draped around you. You stiffened, uncertain. But then he adjusted it, clumsily, tightly—ensuring the wind would not sneak through. Not a word passed between you. It was not kindness. Or if it was, it came wrapped in guilt and command. An act more instinctual than generous, like a warrior tending to his weapon after a long campaign. Still, it held you, shielding you from the wind that howled through the broken land behind you.