Lady Katherine Harrington of Johanne

15 November, Year 1 of Sebastian VI, Emperor of the Longbournian Nations' reign

Longbourne Military Academy for Women, Amöneburg

The Longbournian Nations

The thunder of a pair of hooves rang out loudly throughout the near empty training field. It resounded in the air, becoming louder and louder with each successive repeat, like an echo that simply refused to be silenced.

Soon enough, Corporal Baudelaire entered swiftly into my range of vision, perched on her stallion. She was riding at breakneck speed on the meandering road below the Archery mount I stood on, waving a bulging sack at me with a wide grin on her face.

I tensed, alert at once. Twenty pairs of eager, young eyes around me began to bore holes into my back, observing me very carefully on what I would do.

Concentrate, Kat, I mumbled to myself, concentrate.

My grip on my bow tightened, as I narrowed my gaze and focused on the sack that Corporal Baudelaire was holding up high.

Or specifically, on the knot of rope that tied the sack.

Time seemed to slow down, as I fitted an arrow onto the string and raised my bow to shoulder level. Drawing the shaft to my ear, my eyebrows furrowed in intense focus while I waited for her to reach the exact spot on the road where I wanted to aim.

Deep breaths, Kat, deep breaths.

Each puff of air that left my lips regularly formed a cloud of mist in front of me, glowing orange due to the powerful rays of the Sun that reached out towards me, even as it was sinking into the horizon yonder.

When Corporal Baudelaire reached the correct spot, I wasted no time.

Twang!

The arrow struck the sack straight at its noose, causing it to come loose and allow the heavy rocks within to tumble out of it. Corporal Baudelaire shot me a thumbs-up, continuing to ride off into the sunset.

"Thank you, Corporal Baudelaire," I mouthed to her, as I saluted her in gratitude for agreeing to be my moving target this evening.

Almost simultaneously, thunderous applause began to sound around me.

I turned to the small, watching group of Cadets surrounding me. "Thank you very much," I bowed, chuckling in amusement at the awestruck looks on the faces of the teenagers.

Cadet Eichmann raised her hand. "Would we have to do that, Ma'am?" she sounded almost incredulous in her uncertainty.

"Indeed. In fact, this is what we are going to be learning and practicing tomorrow," I informed them, "your targets will not always be - nay, will never be - stationary like the target boards you have been practising on thus far. Learning to shoot moving targets is an essential skill for army officers like you."

I paused for a moment, as I took in their apprehensive faces. "Why do you all look like I have sentenced you to a term in the dungeons? Do not worry so much," I gave them a small, reassuring smile, "I will be guiding you every step of the way, like I always do. Is that all right?"

A relieved murmur of assent arose. "Aye, Archery Mistress ma'am."

"Good," I nodded, "with that being said, we have come to the end of our training session today. Please be punctual for training tomorrow."

"Thank you, ma'am. Permission to leave, ma'am?"

"Permission granted."

The Cadets dispersed at once, turning around to trudge towards the Academy, no doubt to bathe and make themselves presentable for dinner within an hour.

I had to wince when I recalled how these young adults would be fighting for space in their respective dormitory bathing chambers – shared among twenty Cadets per dormitory - in that time.

Thank God I only had to share mine with two Corporals. However, Corporal Montgomery took her own, sweet time when she used the bathing chambers –

Damn it. I have to reach our quarters before she does.

With that thought, I quickly slung my bow over my shoulder and was about to pick up my quiver of arrows from the ground, when –

"Impressive shot, Mistress Harrington."

I turned around in surprise. The Emperor, dressed in a simple, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of breeches, was striding up the Archery mount towards me.

He was clapping softly. A small smile played about his lips as he did so, and the edges of his sea green eyes - which still seemed worn and haunted by the recent events – crinkled.

A beam immediately lit up my countenance, as it did so often these days.

"Why, thank you, Sire," I answered him cheerfully now, "I thought it was a nice shot myself. What brings you to the Academy this evening?"

The Emperor reached my side at that moment, bent down to pick up my quiver of arrows from the ground that I had been about to, and handed it to me, smiling.

"You."

"Me?"

The Emperor nodded, amused. "Well, I am certain you are aware that it is my birthday tomorrow, and that my mother has held a ball for me tonight to celebrate," he began with a faint smile, "and I am just as certain that you will not attend with me even if I beg on my knees."

Indeed, it was the Emperor's twenty-fifth birthday tomorrow, and the Palace was currently teeming with important guests from all over the Longbournian Nations, and neighbouring countries – the aristocracy and the wealthy, influential merchants – for the celebrations.

I had stayed clear of the Palace the whole day. I had no wish to run into any of the guests, and risk being recognised and questioned. The story of my broken engagement to Richard had spread to all of Monrique's neighbours, and to this day, it was still being spoken of. Everyone wanted to know where the Prince of Monrique had vanished to again in this lifetime, everyone wanted to know what I had done to drive him away. Even after two months of his disappearance, the gossip mill was still in full swing.

And I suspected it would always be, at least until Richard was found.

I sighed. Although their questions and taunts no longer hurt me like they used to, they were still irritating. Thus, I decided to take a break from polite society for the time being.

I broke into an impish smile now, pretending to think. "I might be willing to consider if you do beg..."

The Emperor laughed softly. "Minx," he shook his head in amusement, "in any case, it does not matter. I have decided not to attend the Ball either."

I raised an eyebrow. "You are not attending your own birthday ball?"

"That would be correct."

"But why?" I frowned.

"For one, my Lady Mother only arranges balls when she needs a convenient place to discuss alliances," he shrugged, "as such, I will not be terribly missed if I choose not to attend."

My gaze softened. "Your Imperial Majesty – "

"Nay, I am not upset," he waved off my concern, chuckling, "but the true reason why I wish to skip the event is because there is a travelling troupe performance at the Amöneburg Town Square this evening, and it is their last one for this season."

"I would like to go and watch it – as a simple man who enjoys the show, and not as an Emperor - and I was wondering if you would like to accompany me this evening, Mistress Harrington." he finished.

His sea-green eyes twinkled, albeit much dimly than they used to when I had first met him. Indeed, his smiles were now more reserved, and his happiness less bright.

This past month had been rather difficult for him.

During the recent revolt led by Prince Heinrich's wife to have the Princess arrested for his murder, the Emperor had chosen justice over his second mother. He had suppressed the revolt, flat out refused to charge the Princess with murder, and publicly denounced the late Prince Heinrich as a traitor with the evidence my team and I had collected.

The Emperor had earned Prince Heinrich's family's enmity as a result. It had been a costly, irreversible decision, but he had taken it nevertheless, because it was the right thing to do.

My heart went out to him. Today was the first time in these few weeks that he truly seemed to be excited about something, and I was glad for it.

However, the issue of his safety still remained.

"Surely you informed someone before you left the Palace, Sire?" I asked him anxiously.

"Aye, I informed my guards, since I had to forbid them from following me," he assured me, before frowning, "I had invited Natalya, and a few friends of mine to join us as well, but all of them seem rather determined to attend the ball."

I kept quiet. I did not know about his friends, but I was well aware why the Princess had refused to come.

At Captain Keitel's request after we had interrogated that captor, she had been discreetly watching and investigating her mother at the Palace.

It had been a difficult month for her as well. It had hurt her deeply to find out that her mother had been behind the Cadets' kidnap, and the many attempts on her brother's life – and made her equally frustrated that she was still unable to find any proper evidence against her to have her arrested, and locked far and away from the Emperor where she could no longer hurt him.

It was necessary for her to attend the ball to continue keeping an eye on her mother.

The Emperor shook his head, smiling faintly. "In any case, would you like to join me? As my guard and my friend?"

I thought over it. I would love to go. However, my curfew was at 23 00 hours, and I was not entirely certain if the troupe performance would end before then -

"Oh, come now, Katherine, please say yes," the Emperor's deep voice was feather soft, coaxing, "it will be a wonderful evening, I promise." His sea-green eyes held mine, filled with excitement.

And I knew, there and then, that I had lost the battle.

"All right, all right, I will," I muttered, chuckling, "give me ten minutes, and I will meet you at the entrance of the Academy."

***

"Mistress Harrington?"

I turned around to face the Emperor, who was tapping my shoulder, as we were riding down the deserted, cobbled path from the Academy that led to the town square.

"I beg your pardon, Sire," I answered sheepishly, "what were you saying?"

He pointed to a bend behind us. "We should have turned right there," he told me, "but you seemed occupied – "

I slapped my forehead. "Aye, of course," I sighed, as I pulled on my stallion's reins, and gently turned him around, "I am sorry, I was not paying attention."

"Why do you keep looking back and forth? Is something the matter?" his forehead was creased, as he followed suit.

I looked behind me once more that evening, before leaning towards the Emperor.

"I think we are being followed," I whispered in his ear, "I have been noticing moving shadows about us throughout the journey – "

The Emperor stiffened. "Do we confront them?" he murmured, "I have my weapons with me – "

However, at that moment, our decision was made for us. I heard the stretch of the string of a bow even before I noticed the arrow flying towards us.

"Sire, duck!"

Almost at once, we seemed to be surrounded by a group of men, all armed with maces, swords and bows and arrows – some on their stallions, and some on the ground – with the same, vicious expressions on their faces.

And in their midst, was a sole woman. She was aged, but slender, with familiarly cold, sea-green eyes, whose lower half of the face was covered in black linen.

My blood ran cold. The Dowager Empress.

How?

My mind was reeling. Was the Princess not at the Ball to watch over her mother? How did the Dowager Empress escape her hawk-like watch, and plan this ambush?

I snuck a quick glance at the Emperor. He, too, was staring hard at the woman, his forehead creasing slightly.

Did he recognise her too?

"Get ready te die, ya filth," one of the men grinned at us at that moment to reveal rotten teeth, " Fräulein, can we?" He glanced at the Dowager Empress for permission.

I did not hesitate.

I grabbed threw arrows from my quiver, and shot them simultaneously into the crowd. In the moment of distraction that had caused, I dismounted from my stallion, and swiftly climbed behind the Emperor on his.

"Ride away from here, Sire," I instructed urgently, "now!"

The Emperor tugged hard on the reins, and we rode off to the right at breakneck speed, straight towards the town square. Our attackers were hot on our trail, and their arrows were missing us by mere inches.

"Verdammt," the Emperor swore under his breath, wincing, when an arrow grazed his ear, "Mistress Harrington – "

"Concentrate on riding, Your Imperial Majesty, and keep your head low," I remarked grimly, "I will take care of this."

And take care I did. Swinging my legs over the stallion, I turned around, and leaned my back against the Emperor's for support, before I began to shoot in the earnest.

However, there were a couple of problems.

One, it was unfortunate that I could not aim properly at the moment, because our stallion was moving in a haphazard manner through the town, jostling the both of us, upsetting vegetable carts, stacks of hay, and scaring away animals and children alike.

Two, it was very, very unfortunate that one arrow per attacker was not enough to kill them, or even stop them from chasing us.

I was equally frustrated that I was not able to even touch the Dowager Empress, who was surrounded by her men –

For all her traditional ideas on women not needing to learn how to fight, she was rather proficient at riding, dodging my arrows, and even shooting a few.

I snarled under my breath, wincing. My fingers were beginning to cramp from the constant movement, and I was running out of arrows –

"Shit," I muttered, as I felt an arrow lodge itself into my forearm.

Gritting my teeth, I pulled it out, and used it to shoot it back at the attackers.

"I have arrows, if you need them," the Emperor grabbed a quiver attached to his saddle, and tossed it to me, "how many more of them are there left?"

"Many more still," I huffed, "damn it – "

He muttered something in German under his breath. "Brace yourself, we are approaching a hill," he told me gravely, "we are surrounded on all sides, and I cannot turn anywhere else – "

My eyes widened in horror. "A hill? Sire – "

I almost pitched forward when the stallion began to charge up the incline. I leaned further back against the Emperor, my thighs tightening against the sides of the stallion for support, as I continued shooting.

At long last, I had the upper hand – quite literally.

The trajectories of the attackers' arrows were too short, and they fell short of their aim. However, as I was riding above them, it became much easier for me to shoot them, and truly strike them down.

A victorious smirk curled up my lips, which I directed straight at the Dowager Empress.

She snarled loudly at me, her cold voice slashing the chilling air.

Her men were also growing angry. They had lost too many arrows, and were becoming desperate. They began to slow down. They decided to throw their daggers, their swords, everything in their hands up at us.

"Katherine," the Emperor's voice was serious, "we have a problem."

"Yes?"

"We are reaching the top of the hill."

"So?" I frowned, "we will ride down from the other side - "

"Nay, you do not understand," he shook his head, "there is no other side."

With that, he reined in his stallion, dismounted even before it could stop moving, and sprinted the short distance up to the hilltop.

I followed suit at once, my forehead creasing.

"Here, look," he pointed below, once I reached him.

I peered down. The hilltop eased gently in a decline towards the edge of a cliff. Amöneburg River rushed on eastward about two thousand feet below, and twisted and turned in several meanders, before opening into the sea.

I turned around. The attackers were a little more than a few yards away. The Dowager Empress' sea-green eyes were fixed on us as she rode ahead of her men, gleaming fanatically at almost reaching her goal.

I went cold. There was nowhere left to run, but forward.

The Emperor turned to face me, and the same conclusion I had come to was reflected in his wide eyes.

"Bring the saddle here," he murmured.

Nodding, I all but ripped the saddle away from his stallion, and balanced it on the very edge of the hilltop. He sat on it astride, and bade me to sit behind him, tensed.

I did as told. My heart was beating so hard with fear, that I could no longer even hear the water gushing below.

"Ready?"

I did not dare look below, as I gulped. "Whenever you are."

He leaned forward at once. The saddle slid down the bumpy, muddy slope to the edge of the cliff, accelerating, and I wrapped my arms around his middle instinctively.

"Breathe, Katherine," I could hardly hear him over the thudding of my heart.

"Holy Mary Mother of God, Holy Mary Mother of God, Holy Mary Mother of God," I breathed in and out.

The tears in my eyes dried up completely, as stars danced before my vision. Before I knew it, the saddle had launched off the edge and we were airborne.

Fuck.

The Emperor sucked in a sharp breath, and stiffened.

On the other hand, I shut my eyes and screamed my lungs out, my terrified voice ringing across the silent landscapes. I could no longer feel the bottom of my stomach, as we plunged straight down thousands of feet. We frequently grazed against some tree branches and sharp, rocky surfaces, and I knew it was only a matter of time before we hit the ground, or worse, impaled -

We are going to die, we are going to die, we are going to die –

And we hit the water.

"Sebastian!"

My screams were stifled at once. Coldness seeped through every crevice of my body, as I swallowed a mouth full of water. My eyes flew open underwater, and I sensed myself being tossed downstream at full speed by the river.

The Emperor reached for my waist with one arm, and used the other to grab the saddle floating above our heads. With great effort, we kicked ourselves up to the surface.

"Climb onto the saddle," he coughed out, "come, easy now..." He held down the saddle, and helped me up onto it.

He then attempted to climb on as well, as I grabbed both of his arms and hauled him out of the water such that he was sitting behind me.

"We will need to catch the next meander," he was shivering with the cold, "please help me stabilise the saddle."

With that, he slowly stood up on the rather flimsy saddle, wobbling. I moved forward to the edge to counter his weight, as the next bend – lined by several rocks - approached on our right.

The moment he was within a foot's distance from the nearest rock to the bank, he latched one of his legs around it, while he held the saddle with the other, wincing. He slowly drew the saddle closer to the bank as much as he could, against the water current. The muscles near his neck clenched, and popped out against his skin, as he strained.

"You need to jump," he bade me urgently.

I nodded mutely, standing up, before I placed one of my legs out and leaped.

And missed.

I fell face first into the water once more, and my head hit hard against the smaller rocks. However, I managed to reach out and grip the bank in time, before I could be swept away, and slowly raised one leg over the ground and rolled over.

Once he was certain that I was safe, the Emperor, too, released the saddle and leaped off the rock that he had been holding onto, and landed on his side next to me on the ground.

My heart was thudding in my ears. Had we truly done it? Had we?

I could feel the last of the sun's rays on the side of my face. I could feel the warm, solid ground against my back. I could feel the Emperor's chilled, trembling arm pressed up against my own.

Turning my head, I glanced over at him. He was already looking at me, a faint smile playing about his lips.

"Quite an adventure, eh?"

A choked chuckle rose up my throat. Adventure? It was more of a suicide attempt gone thankfully wrong.

I simply rolled my eyes at him. Rising to my feet, I walked a few steps forward, and craned my neck to peer at the cliff top from which we had jumped.

There was no one there.

Still, pernicious, paralysing paranoia crept up and down my spine in chills, momentarily freezing me in place.

Would the Dowager Empress believe us dead from the fall, and return to the Palace?

Or would she search for the Emperor near the course of Amöneburg River, to be certain that he was dead?

"Your Imperial Majesty, we need to leave right away," I cleared my throat, turning around to face the Emperor, "or else – "

In the meanwhile, the Emperor had sat upright, his knees drawn to his chest, deep within his thoughts. He was gazing ahead at the sea, smiling softly in contentment, where the river opened up to the horizon, and was meeting with the sun's rays.

He turned his head to look at me. "Nay, worry not. We still have time."

"Sire – "

"If our attackers are still intent on their chase," he explained, "they will need to make their way through these hundred-acre woods before they can even reach Amöneburg River - and this river runs a hundred-thousand-feet course in Amöneburg alone. It will take them hours to find us."

"So," he continued with a smile even before I could open my mouth, "please sit down, and enjoy this beautiful sunset with me. I promise, we will leave after that." He gestured ahead.

I stared at him, puzzled. He was in an unusually good mood for someone who had escaped death mere moments ago.

"What are you so happy about, Sire?" I was curious.

He smiled softly. "We live," his voice was almost reverent, "is that not a good enough reason to be happy?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Not when Fräulein is determined to kill you," I reminded him, "did you not see her earlier among our attackers? She must be becoming desperate if she has joined the fray herself."

"I do not care who she is, or why she wants my life," he shook his head, "thanks to my amazing horsemanship, and your skill with your weapons, we are still alive at this moment - and that is all that matters."

A brief smirk crossed my lips. "You forgot to mention my intelligence, quick-thinking, reflexes – "

He laughed. "Aye, those too," he conceded amiably, "now, come. The sunset is almost ending." He insisted, patting the ground next to him.

I shook my head in exasperation, and sat next to him cross-legged, as a comfortable silence fell between us.

Together, we watched the sun slowly sink below the horizon in a trailing blaze of gold. The light blue skies were infused with an unearthly orange glow, and they played with the intensity of these hues, creating new colours, painting a constantly changing portrait across the heavens.

Slowly, but surely, I fell under the spell of their beauty and I stared, mesmerised. I could not remember the last time I had sat down in the evening to watch a sunset – or woke up at dawn simply to watch a sunrise, for that matter.

The end of each day would always bring with it a start of another. There was nothing new or interesting about that. It was how it was. Life was nothing but a well-rehearsed routine.

Except...today would have been the last time we saw a sunset, had we perished when we fell from the cliff.

It would have truly been the end. There would have been no sunrise, no promise of tomorrow for the either of us.

No tomorrow.

Never waking up to bicker with Corporal Montgomery. Never serving in the army. Never chatting with the Princess, and my other colleagues over plates of Apfelstrudels at dinner. Never seeing my dearest family, my friends, the Emperor or anyone I loved ever again –

The realisation hit me rather hard, like I had run headlong into a stone wall, leaving me breathless. In that moment, I felt so immensely grateful to be able to watch this sunset, sitting next to the Emperor, that my throat clogged up.

"Sebastian," I tested his name on my lips.

"Hmm?"

"You were right," I whispered, "'tis a good enough reason to be happy."

He turned to look at me, startled. His sea-green eyes slowly took in the expression on my countenance, the tears in my eyes, and they softened in understanding. Without another word, he gently drew me into his arms, and pressed his lips against my forehead.

"You will be able to watch the sunset every day, hale and happy," he promised softly, "I will always make sure of it."

"With you?"

His lips pulled up in a warm smile. "If it makes you happy."

Blinking back my tears, I wrapped my arms tightly around his middle, and leaned against him, as he rested his cheek against the top of my head.

It was thus, with the sound of his hard, steady heartbeat in my ears, that I welcomed the end of the day.

***

Three hours later, the Emperor and I reached the Palace entrance, exhausted and chilled to our very bones. We were seated atop a merchant's cart, surrounded by hay and goods of all kinds.

I stretched my arms over my head, taking a deep breath. The moment I entrusted the Emperor to his guards at his chambers, I was going to hunt down the Princess. We needed to have a discussion about what had happened this evening, and how to catch the Dowager Empress at it as soon as possible.

"Well, 'ere we are," the jolly old merchant, who had very kindly given us a lift from Amöneburg Woods, ordered his horseman just then, "Ritchie, stop 'ere, stop 'ere."

We came to a gentle stop a few steps shy of the front gates, where the guards stood. I shook the Emperor awake, who had fallen deep asleep on my shoulder.

"We have reached the Palace," I whispered, "wake up."

He jerked awake, disoriented, as his sea-green eyes slowly blinked to adjust to the darkness.

"We are home?" his voice was husky with sleep.

"Ritchie, help them down from there," the merchant was chuckling at us in amusement, "we don't want them falling all over the place."

The horseman shook his head vehemently, and mumbled something I could not hear.

"I'll take care of the horses," the merchant cut him off, "go – "

"'Tis all right," the Emperor yawned, "we can get down ourselves."

Rubbing his eyes, he stood up and swiftly leaped over the edge of the cart in a somersault, and landed onto the ground without so much as a sound.

He shot me a victorious grin from below.

"Show-off," I muttered, as I rose to my feet as well.

The merchant's towering, well-built horseman, in the meanwhile, had dismounted. He hurried over to the back to help me, brushing his rather long hair out of his face every few moments. We were almost surrounded by pitch darkness, except for the faint light from the crescent moon above.

Yet, I felt a strange sensation creep up my spine, as I observed the horseman's gait, his frame.

I squinted hard. There was something oddly familiar -

"What are you waiting for, Mistress Harrington?" the Emperor called out, interrupting my thoughts, "come, let us go."

The horseman held out his hand towards me for me to hold on to, keeping his head bowed.

My suspicion heightened. Why was he hiding his face from me?

"I will be fine," I told him quietly, waving off his assistance, "thank you."

With that, I climbed up onto the edge of the cart, deeply lost in my thoughts, and was about to jump to the ground when I lost my footing.

"By God – " I sucked in a sharp breath.

"Katherine!" the Emperor moved forward, alarmed.

The horseman was faster. He caught me in his arms before I could hit the ground, and set me gently on my feet by the waist.

The sense of familiarity of his hold, the easy way in which he handled me, was overwhelming. Friend or foe, I was certain I knew this horseman from somewhere.

Ritchie, was it? I tried to peer up at him, but he quickly stepped away from me, turning his face away.

"Thank you," the Emperor smiled at him, before turning to me, frowning, "you should be more careful, Mistress Harrington! Did we not have enough falls today?"

"I am sorry, I was not paying attention," I shot him an apologetic smile, before turning to the horseman again.

"Pardon me," I addressed him, staring hard at him, "but have I been acquainted with you before today?"

The horseman stiffened at my question. He shook his head.

Lie. I knew not how I knew, but I did.

"Are you from Monrique?" I pressed on.

He bowed his head even lower, silent.

"Is everything all right there, miss?" the merchant called out from the front, "we need to leave soon."

A loud sigh of relief left the horseman, and he all but turned away and sprinted his employer at that.

The Emperor was staring between us in confusion. "Katherine – "

"He is hiding something, Sire. I am sure of it," I whispered, "he clearly recognises me. I must find out who he is."

With that, I hurried forward to catch up to the horseman. The Emperor jogged closely behind me, his forehead creased.

When I reached the horseman, I grabbed his shoulder, and swung him around to face me. On instinct, he tried to push me away from him – and by habit, I aimed a punch straight to his nose before his arms could reach my torso.

I heard the satisfying crack of his nose.

"Ouch, Kat!" his deep, velvet voice hissed in pain, clutching his nose, "by the Lord, how many times will you break my nose in this life time before I - "

The moment those words left his lips, he froze where he stood.

The Emperor's eyes widened to saucers, as did mine, as we both stared at the horseman. All time came to a screeching standstill, and the realisation slowly seeped through my veins.

It was a wonder I did not crumble under its weight.

"Look at me," I commanded quietly.

The horseman remained as still as a statue.

"I said, look at me, damn it!" I snarled, my voice ringing across the silent landscape.

He flinched, and his shoulders sagged in defeat. He pushed back his hair from his face, to reveal his all-too-familiar grey eyes that gleamed in the faint light. The only difference was, they were now completely empty of their previous warmth and affection for me, as held my gaze.

The Emperor stilled. "Richard?"

I knew what he must be thinking. He was probably remembering the many months that his poor sister had spent drowning in her pain and tears, once all plans of her wedding to this frustrating man had fallen through.

But I?

I was recalling the few years of our childhood that we had enjoyed together, and the many more I had spent obsessively mourning his supposed death when he had first been kidnapped.

I was recalling the memory of my joy when he had returned safely, when we had rekindled our friendship, when I had admitted to him how I had truly felt about him, when he had proposed marriage to me.

I was recalling the day he had willingly set off on his own, leaving me to pick up what was left of my heart, prickling and bleeding, and piece them back together.

But the cracks were still there. They would always be there.

At that moment, the frustration, the grief that bubbled up within me left me trembling violently. Before I knew what I was doing, I had pulled out our engagement ring that I always carried around in my pocket for safekeeping, hurled it at his head.

"Fuck you."