The village square was unusually quiet, the kind of quiet that buzzed with anticipation. It was a false silence—the sort that lingered just before an explosion of chatter. Everyone was on edge, waiting for any scrap of information that could explain the day's extraordinary events.
Small groups of villagers gathered in clusters, their heads bent close together as they exchanged hushed whispers. The topic of conversation was the same in every group: the mysterious woman who had appeared out of nowhere and disrupted their peaceful village. She was stunning, commanding, and had dealt with the situation in the hall with such authority that it left everyone in awe.
"Who do you think she is?" one elderly man asked, scratching his head as he leaned on his cane. "She didn't look like any of the villagers' relatives. Too... refined."
