u/Lost-Rule-1472

CHAPTER 1 - THE FESTIVAL OF MOONS

"You are fortunate. He is said to be patient."

The burnished gold chains at Aunt Amina's neck clanked in a rigid rhythm to the palanquin's motion as it pressed onward, barely visible beneath the satin veil.
Huda paused, pulling in a measured breath. The words carried a weight she did not question.

"So I have heard."

A gust of cool evening air seeped into the confined space, carrying muffled echoes of festivity as it stirred the soft, layered silks by the chamber window into an enchanted dance. Dance. Such a peculiar phenomenon. It was effortless, light, and unburdened - a word that seemed as distant from Huda's own steps as the celebrations impending through the night. How softly the silks moved, and how strange that she could envy even fabric for the liberty to choose its own.

"You will meet him on the morrow night. The moons favor beginnings made under their witness."

The kinswoman's voice, worn by the years, carried the remarks in a slow, deliberate cadence; the golden pendants at her ears hung firm, deflecting an intruding beam in a restrained glint.

"You will not want for anything."

Huda lowered her gaze, her slender fingers hesitating over the embroidery gathered across her lap; a tight, stitched floral pattern looping in a dignified obedience - the precise, familiar configuration woven into her garments since her formative years.
When night falls on the morrow, an offering would be made beneath the twin harvest moons. It felt as though she, too, would be claimed.

"You will come to care for him in time, my child."

The aunt's tone softened. She cared for her. Huda knew that much.
The dancing silks now flattered frantically, unable to withstand a sudden flurry. The elderly matron drew her mantle tighter across her shoulders, securing a bronze button through its loop with meticulous care. Huda cast a glance towards the carved lattice screens sheltering the hatch. The sounds outside had grown closer, no longer contained by the wood. They were nearing the capital.

Fragments of black sky drifted between the neat partition squares, white clouds swirling across, shifting around the two silvery moons. Their colossal presence loomed with unusual proximity as though the city itself had drawn upward to meet their favor.