As the weeks passed, Leon and Elena found themselves meeting more often in that same spot. It became their place, a quiet corner of the world where they could escape the harshness of reality, if only for a short while.

Leon learned that Elena, like him, had lost her family to the brutal workings of the kingdom. Her father had been a soldier, one of the many lost to the endless wars that the nobles waged for land and power. Her mother had succumbed to illness not long after, leaving Elena to fend for herself in the streets.

But despite her circumstances, Elena still clung to hope. She dreamed of leaving the slums one day, of finding a better life beyond the city walls.

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"One day," she said softly, as they sat together one evening, "I’m going to see the mountains. I’ve heard they’re beautiful, untouched by all this." She gestured to the crumbling buildings around them.

Leon chuckled, shaking his head. "Mountains? Really? I figured you'd dream of a palace or something."

Elena smiled, but there was sadness in her eyes. "A palace? No. That’s not for people like us. But the mountains... they don’t care where you’re from. You can just be."

Her words stayed with him long after she had left that night. Leon had always thought his dreams were limited to survival—to getting out of the slums, making enough money to live comfortably. But Elena’s dreams were different. She wasn’t just surviving—she was dreaming of freedom, of something more than just scraping by.

For the first time, Leon found himself imagining a world beyond the struggle. Maybe, just maybe, there was something worth fighting for that wasn’t covered in d

irt and grime.