Leia kept her hood low as she walked through the narrow stone alleys of the outer district. Rainwater from the night before still glistened in cracks between the bricks, reflecting her pale boots like shards of a broken mirror.
The weight of her name pressed heavier than usual today.
A vendor snorted as she passed. "Crows don't beg. They swoop and steal."
Leia didn't respond.
Another voice, younger, added from behind, "Is that the one? The silent girl with no spark?"
She walked faster.
This was her routine now. Walk with purpose. Don't make eye contact. Ignore the whispers. Act like their words didn't dig trenches in her chest.
The shame was louder than the noise.
---
She reached the only place she found peace: an old, dried-up fountain near the east edge of the district. Once, it must've been beautiful — carved from lionstone, shaped like a blooming flower. But now, vines wrapped around its cracked bowl, and the only thing it collected was dust and trash.
Leia climbed onto the edge and sat.
Her stomach grumbled, but she ignored it. Her mother had offered her half a yam chip this morning. She'd pretended to eat it and slipped it back into Selene's wrap when she turned away.
Her mother needed it more.
---
A shout broke her thoughts.
Down the street, two boys were running — one chasing the other, both laughing and throwing punches in the air like mock warriors. They wore scraps of dyed fabric tied like capes, pretending to be aura-knights.
Leia once dreamed of joining the Crown Enclave herself — the military wing of the Empire, where only the gifted could rise. A family like the Crows produced captains, tacticians, legends. They didn't produce… people like her.
Unranked. Unchosen.
Unseen.
---
A shadow passed near her. She looked up as a young woman with a market basket walked past, then paused, studying her.
"You're… from the manor, aren't you?" the woman asked.
Leia said nothing.
"I remember seeing you once. Your mother wore gold. You had a parasol with black lace." She gave a dry smile. "Funny. Now you're sitting where the beggars sit."
Leia stood slowly. "Is that all you wanted to say?"
The woman shrugged. "Some of us were born here. Others fall."
"Then maybe you understand how to survive it."
The woman gave her one last look and walked away without replying.
Leia sat again.
That was the thing about the outer district — it didn't welcome anyone, not even its own.
---
Later that evening, back in the shelter, Selene was folding what little laundry they had.
Leia sat beside her, helping pick the dried pieces off the rope that hung near the window crack.
"Someone recognized me today," Leia said quietly.
Her mother didn't look up. "What happened?"
"Nothing much. Just more reminders."
Selene nodded. "This city's full of reminders. That's how it keeps you in place."
Leia hesitated, then asked, "Why didn't you leave the Crows estate before they threw us out?"
"I wanted to."
"Then why didn't you?"
Her mother placed a tunic down carefully.
"Because I thought maybe if I stayed long enough… they'd see you."
Leia stared at the floor. "But they didn't."
"No," Selene said. "They saw their fear. Not your face."
---
The wind picked up, rattling the old shutters. Their lamp flickered weakly.
Leia leaned back against the cold wall, pulling her thin blanket around her shoulders.
"What happens if I never awaken?" she asked, voice barely audible.
Selene didn't speak.
The silence between them said everything.