Andronica stood there in front of her vanity mirror, staring back at her reflection as she waited for a handmaiden to come and continue getting her dressed.

She found herself a little fidgety, which she disclosed between her clasped hands. She felt almost dazed, in a way. Today there was an event going on in the palace to announce her engagement.

Though she didn’t care about it enough to do anything about it, she found that her corset was just tight enough to bring her slight discomfort, forcing her back even straighter than it always already was. The unnecessarily long sleeves, the unnecessarily heavy dress, it all felt like a huge weight, both physically and mentally… Like she was in the jaws of a bare trap, and yet she couldn’t find any desire to be released, when there was no purpose to.