ruler of her heart, KORRA

𝟬𝟬𝟬 Haunted Childhood

── 𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕.

[ 001 ] HAUNTED CHILDHOOD
❝Let my daughter go, you thugs!❞

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 SANYU WAS ONLY SIX when her favorite season turned into a nightmare.

 Spring had always been her comfort──a season of blossoms, gentle breezes, and new beginnings. But on that fateful night, the warmth of spring betrayed her, breaking the sense of safety she had once known.

 She had fallen asleep in her new room, her first time sleeping apart from her mother. It was just a short hallway away, but to Sanyu, it felt like a declaration of independence. She had pleaded with Lin, her mother, until the usually stoic woman relented, though not without a stern warning. "Republic City isn't safe, not even at night," Lin had said.

 Lin Beifong's fears proved right.

 The cool spring breeze had lulled Sanyu into dreams, slipping through the open window. But that same breeze carried something else with it──a presence, unseen but deeply unsettling.

 A loud thud jolted her awake. Her heart raced as her eyes darted around the dimly lit room, regretting her habit of keeping the windows open. Moonlight filtered through the curtains, casting long, eerie shadows on the walls. The once comforting breeze now felt cold and invasive.

 "Mom?" she called out. However, it was swallowed by the quietness of the house.

 Lin was never a heavy sleeper. Sanyu knew her mother's instincts were sharper than anyone's──always vigilant, always ready to protect her daughter from the city's countless dangers. But tonight, the silence pressed in, deafening and wrong.

 The curtains fluttered, and Sanyu froze. The breeze felt different this time as if someone──or something──was lurking in the darkness.

 "Mom!" Sanyu's voice pierced the stillness of the night, louder now, as her eyes locked onto two glinting pairs in the shadows near her study table.

 Before the scream could fully escape her lips, a rough hand clamped over her mouth, silencing her. In an instant, she was yanked from her bed, dragged into the cold, unfamiliar darkness beyond her room. Her struggles were futile as they bound her with coarse ropes and gagged her with a scrap of fabric, plunging her into a suffocating silence.