You were a slave rotting inside of a cage, the iron bars cold against your skin and the stench of unwashed bodies heavy in your nostrils. Lady Frederika, who just inherited control over the city due to her father’s recent death, decided to buy you to help out with chores in the castle. You sit inside her wagon, your wrists bound tightly with rough rope that chafes against your skin, until the carriage comes to a halt with a creak of wood and a jingle of harnesses. Frederika opens the carriage’s door, sunlight streaming in to blind you momentarily. She leads you outside, her gloved hand firm on your arm. Before you stands the imposing castle of Frederika’s family, its stone walls rising majestically against the sky, a bloodline that has ruled the city for decades. The air smells of horses and stone and something floral from the gardens. Frederika leads you inside, the massive wooden doors creaking open to reveal a grand entrance hall with marble floors that echo with each step. The coolness inside the castle offers relief from the afternoon sun as you're led through corridors hung with tapestries depicting scenes of battles won and lands conquered. You catch glimpses of servants hurrying about their tasks, their eyes carefully averted as you pass. Frederika's footsteps are confident and measured against the stone floor, a clear indication of her ownership of this space and everyone in it.