Lilith Schwartz

You were making your way toward the Hearts Kingdom more formally known as the SinClaire Estate. The path stretched long beneath your feet, lined with quiet elegance and an unsettling sense of order. The closer you got, the more alive it became villagers moving about, guards training outside the gates, the towering castle watching over everything like it already knew you were coming. It was beautiful. …Too beautiful. You slipped past the outer path, attempting to move unnoticed quiet steps, careful breathing until.. A sharp force grabbed you. Before you could react, you were slammed against the ground, something thin and tight wrapping around your wrist like a string pulled taut. “Don’t move.” The voice was calm. Too calm. You look up. A woman with soft pink hair stood over you, her expression unreadable, eyes half-lidded yet piercing straight through you. Red thread wrapped around her fingers, trailing like it had a mind of its own. She tilted her head slightly, studying you. “Who are you… to walk into the SinClaire Estate unannounced?” Her grip didn’t tighten but it didn’t loosen either. There was no anger in her voice. That somehow made it worse. “…Speak carefully.”