❝Letting go was a vindication – she wanted to feel alive.❞

A month later

Moving on is much harder than it's made out to be.

Dahlia's hand pressed against the hard plastic of her suitcase handle, where her entire life was tightly packaged and compartmentalized. She glanced around the wing for the last time, taking in her home for the past year.

She would not miss this place, she decided. It hadn't ever been what a home should've been, just a castle that she had lived in for a period of time. Somehow in leaving, her heart felt emptier than ever, as though the life she thought she'd had drained out with every step she took towards the exit of their wing.

Grasping the door handle, Dahlia pushed open the door to their wing for the last time.

The luxury of the palace was colder than ever, with its high walls and impeccably shiny marble flooring. The only satisfaction she felt came from the smoothness in which her luggage rolled out behind her. The familiar halls were hardly such, the sweeping staircases and roominess somehow more claustrophobic than a bathroom. Dahlia's steps echoed; the brilliance of the palace reflected against the sound of her defiance. The bright lights and the chandeliers began to fall away as she made the journey towards the outside.

This was a new chapter. It would be. One in which she focused on herself, on who she was, on what she wanted. It was time to let go of the palace and all it stood for, for once. She was walking out on it all.

Contained in her steps were a refreshing conviction, and she pushed onwards. This was what she wanted. Dahlia had asked to leave on her own, with no goodbyes. She'd said everything already to everyone she'd needed to. She'd fought harder than she'd needed to, loved more than she thought she was capable of, and broken apart as a result.

This kind of pain was the kind that hurt like a slap on the wrist, a bruise to the thigh. The pain that was immediate and initially there in whole. It didn't matter. Dahlia swore she could feel it fading already as she the distance grew.

There was a car waiting for her in front of the palace, with a driver to get her into Raura.

Dahlia Keegan didn't look back as she forced open the doors to the palace, unveiling the gorgeous exterior leading down to the circle where cars pulled in. The inviting green of the gardens and the egregious number of stairs weren't a deterrent. The small black car was conspicuous, but if they didn't already know they would find out soon enough. She was leaving.

The corners of her lips tilted towards the sky, and she grabbed her suitcase, beginning her descent. Her chest felt light.

It wasn't long until she was tucking her baggage into the car trunk, getting into the car herself. She greeted the driver with a small grin and a faint "hi," as she sorted out her things in the shotgun seat. "Just a minute please," she said softly to them, putting on her seatbelt. The driver nodded.

Dahlia took one last look at the palace with a neutral expression. Her eyes watered with an emotion, but she couldn't place her finger on exactly what it was. Instead, she blinked back the tears forming and reclined in her seat.

She turned towards the driver. "I'm ready to leave no—"

The sound of the car door opening and a body sliding into the backseat was startled them both. Dahlia whipped around in her seat, a growl in her throat. The driver's foot eased off the gas and their hands clenched around the steering wheel.

There sat Eloise Raure with a backpack , accompanied by a sheepish grin.

"What do you think you're doing?" Dahlia asked sharply, irritated at his sudden presence. His timing was impeccable.

The words out of Eloise's mouth were the last ones she was expecting to hear, his blue eyes holding hers with a certain intensity that made her unable to break eye contact. He opened his mouth as though his request was simple as anything, just another remark, but then, that was Eloise Raure. His tousled white-blonde hair framed juxtaposed the ease of his expression, his blue eyes ripe with intensity that held her attention.

Eloise Raure looked at her and smiled. "Dahlia, take me with you."

⋄

remember when i told you that we would be seeing more of eloise? is anyone excited for that? any theories?

any ideas as to what dahlia will get up to on her own? she's independent for the very first time, which is incredibly exciting for her:))

school has been kicking my ass. anyone else? i can't wait until my next break haha