Dawn gilded Glory City's ancient stone-paved streets with a soft, pale golden light.
The air still held the coolness of the night's dew, mingled with the warm aromas of baking bread and frying bacon drifting from the houses.
At the corner of a fairly narrow commercial street, a fruit stall beneath a makeshift canvas awning had just opened.
The dark-skinned vendor deftly sorted freshly picked apples, pears, and berries into neat piles, humming a tuneless little song.
Just then, a figure stopped soundlessly before his stall.
The vendor instinctively looked up, ready to greet his customer with a practiced smile. "What would you li-"
The rest of his words caught in his throat.
His eyes widened instantly, his mouth falling slightly open, as though he had seen something that should never have appeared amid this noisy marketplace.
Standing before his stall was a barefoot girl.
Her ankles were slender and fair, her feet small and delicate. They rested directly on the paving stones, still cold in the morning air, yet remained utterly spotless.
Above them was a simple black dress with an ankle-length skirt, and above that, waist-length hair cascading down like a waterfall, so black it seemed to absorb the light.
Then there was her face.
The vendor's meager vocabulary deserted him completely.
He felt as though an invisible hand had clenched around his heart, stopping even his breath.
The sight struck him with an almost uncanny force, something beyond mere beauty or prettiness.
The girl's features were as exquisite as a masterpiece into which the finest artist had poured a lifetime of effort. Every line was flawless, and together they formed a breathtaking harmony.
Most striking of all were her violet eyes, which held a faint trace of languor as she gazed at him... or rather, at the