The light in the room was only the intermittent glow of gas lamps, dancing with the smoke of gunpowder. The floor smelled of iron... and disappointment. No one was in their proper place anymore. Chairs were upturned. Papers were scattered. Everything pointed to an end... or another beginning.
William sat on the floor, pressing on a wound on his shoulder, but he still smiled. His gaze was lost, not in the pain of the body, but in the confusion of the heart.
🃏 William (in a hoarse voice):25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgs4UpJIgt
"You know, Elizabeth? I didn't expect you to drop me... but to hold the knife in your hand."
Elizabeth was standing, blood on her forearm, but it wasn't her own. Her hand didn't tremble, her eye didn't well. But she was teetering between triumph... and emptiness.
♠ Elizabeth:25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9O1S3fQB7W
"I learned from the best... but I didn't want to end it like this."
🃏 William (looking into her eyes):25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwidMEQKlpg
"We could have been allies, you know?... if we weren't reflections of the same flaw."
♠ Elizabeth (in a low voice):25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQz4PbkowLI
"And that flaw... is that we can't trust anyone."
In the corner of the room, Madeleine sat quietly on a slumped chair, watching the scene, leg over leg, as if watching one last play.
❤️ Madeleine:25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6WNTJlXcKj
"Nice, isn't it? A poetic ending. Blood, betrayal, half-baked love, and words worthy of a grave."
♠ Elizabeth (turning her face toward her):25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClFq3y34hx
"You're not out of the game yet, Madeleine."
❤️ Madeleine:25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3p9Jv12mR2
"And I don't claim to be. But you won the round. As for the war... who knows who's starting it again."
...
Then John enters, his face covered in dust and light blood, his eyes searching only for her: Elizabeth.
♠ John:25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7WSvWJSTkD
"It's over?"
♠ Elizabeth (shaking her head):25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJOHQI87yZX
"Nothing ends... but it changes."
John approaches, looking at the wounded William, then at the weapon in Elizabeth's hand.
♠ John:25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6KehE4KnS
"Did you... kill him?"
♠ Elizabeth (looking at William):25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCgrJNY4HS
"No. I couldn't. And I don't want to."
🃏 William (with a wry smile):25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr2XHhgbuzI
"That's what makes you different. And maybe... stronger."
♠ John:25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgeTeFxH7ca
"What now? The council is over, Terence's men have fled, and the past is all but destroyed."
♠ Elizabeth:25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjhok7vTtk
"We start over. We fix what we can. And we let the rest burn."
❤️ Madeline:25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbb7LIN3nEa
"And do you believe fire purifies?"
♠ Elizabeth:25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwZLBfewBu
"Rather, I believe some of the ashes are fit to be replanted."
…
In the final scene of the chapter,25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHB8cmpumng
Sir Terence's body is carried out of the palace.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEoeYr7Yhj6
William is taken to a treatment room, but he doesn't ask for anything. He only asks for a pen and paper.
He writes:25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgojXdLaAY
"To you who read me as I read papers,25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJEfoHpo9eh
You were the paper that is revealed only when the table is turned."
He signs it: - William
...
At the top of the palace, Elizabeth stands before the window, looking down at the city below... the city that had consumed her, then given her victory.
♠ Elizabeth (to herself):25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi3WAzgft00
"I have lost many things... but I am no longer afraid of falling."
Then, she closes the window. The wind begins to howl again.
ns13.59.243.24da2
and then Add to home screen.