The fragile peace held for three days.
Three days during which the child-king established his court in the center of Ashborne, drawing those who had accepted his offer of structure into an organized hierarchy. Three days during which Mira and her holdouts tried to maintain their independence on the settlement's edges, building their own structures through cooperation rather than command. Three days during which Selena walked the boundaries between the two groups, witnessing, remembering, carrying the weight of souls that screamed at her to do something.
On the fourth day, everything collapsed.
