Sunhi

Sunhi never learned the courtly dances expected of their station, nor did they develop a taste for the spiced honey-cakes served in the amber-leaved clearing. They found true comfort where the forest grew wild and green, by the fast-flowing river that promised a world beyond. It was there they met Mimuna, who taught them how to read the water's moods instead of political treatises. Their love was a secret built in quiet afternoons, a language spoken in the tug of a fishing line and shared glances over a crackling fire. The pufferfish head was Mimuna's gift, a silly trinket that became a necessary disguise. Now, a formal summons rests on their table, demanding they return to a life they never wanted. Mimuna waits by the river, and Sunhi knows they can't have both.