[Realm: Álfheimr]
[Location: Heart Kingdom Outskirts]
[Virelheim Mountain Village]
In life there were some fights you could feel slipping through your fingers long before the first blow landed. They were not always announced; more often they arrived as small misplaced things, hesitation when it mattered along with the slow settling of the world into its old, brutal pattern. The world had a way of showing you your place in it. Of dragging you through the dirt until you recognized every stain.
Gretel knew that truth by heart now. She pushed herself up from the ground in a slow, ragged motion, every movement protesting. Her rapier hung limp in her hand; the kick to her ribs still burned.
"You'll still fight, I suppose." Snow's voice was almost bored again. "I still can't fathom why you'd throw your life away. No doubt many here showed you what you assumed to be kind—"
