[color=lightgray][center][h1][color=red]FLASHBACK— Sola 29, Afternoon[/color][/h1][/center] [center][h2][color=D0B4EC]Charlotte[/color] & [color=7ea7d8]Delilah[/color][/h2] [/center] [color=D0B4EC]Time:[/color] Evening of Banquet Sola 28 → Sola 29 Afternoon [color=7ea7d8]Location:[/color] Vikena Estate → Sorian Graveyard [color=D0B4EC]Mention:[/color] [@Oso] Cassius [@FunnyGuy] Lorenzo [hr] Delilah could still remember her sobs over the sound of running water that night after the banquet. How it had carried through the room and down the halls, yet she had been the only one to hear them. And just how deep and raw the pain had sounded, as if her wounds had finally been given a voice at last. She remembered how the girl she had cared for over the years had looked that night: small again, as if she had become the fragile child she once was. Curled in the porcelain tub, her hair spilled over her like dark ink, her face buried in her knees, her words tumbling out in broken, nearly incomprehensible pleas to no one at all. [i]Leave me alone. [/i] Again and again, as if the very air around her was haunting her. For how quiet she had been, they had held intensity like she hadn’t heard in years. Delilah had sat behind her, the brush moving slowly through her long hair. Her own brow had furrowed, every stroke of the brush slow and gentle as though the strands themselves might shatter if touched too roughly. She brushed because it was all she could do. After all, touch was the only weapon she had against the unseen. [color=7ea7d8][i]I’m supposed to protect you.[/i][/color] But how did one fight what she could not see? How could she guard Charlotte from horrors that clawed at her mind, when no blade, no shield, could cut them down? So she stayed, brushing and murmuring soft nothings into the silence until the sobs ebbed, until her girl fell quiet. The next morning passed without sight of her. Delilah saw Charlotte only when she returned from the castle with Duke Vikena. They ate together; it was an ordinary meal with polite conversation filling the silence, but the ordinary could not disguise what lingered beneath. The memory of the night’s sobs clung like a shadow over them so heavily that even the others at the table seemed to feel its presence. By afternoon, Delilah had asked leave to visit her mother’s grave. It had been the anniversary of her mother's death, and she had not wanted to face it alone. Charlotte had offered, almost too quickly, to join her. And so, scarcely an hour later, they stepped down from a carriage on the western edge of Sorian. The rain fell soft and steady, pattering against their umbrellas, painting the world in shades of grey. Charlotte’s boots splashed in the puddles, her skirts darkening where they met the damp ground. They approached the graveyard, the iron gates groaning open as the two then made their way through the wet grass. The headstones before them were slick with rain, some of their names covered by moss. Delilah stole a glance at the young woman beside her. Charlotte’s face was pale against the dark backdrop, her lashes heavy with water. She held her umbrella close, but her shoulders curled inward. The grave they came to was simple, though lovingly tended. The flowers Delilah had placed there weeks ago were wilted and bruised by the weather. [i]Isabelle Pembrook[/i] Charlotte’s eyes lingered, lashes heavy with rain. Her voice came quietly when she finally spoke, almost hesitant. [color=D0B4EC]“...You never did tell me what happened to her.”[/color] Delilah’s chest tightened, and she slowly fell to her knees. For a long moment, she only knelt, her knees pressing into the damp soil. She reached out to smooth her hand slowly across the top of the headstone. [color=7ea7d8]“She was taken from me in life,”[/color] Delilah said softly. [color=7ea7d8]“But never in spirit. Nothing…Not greed, nor cruelty, nor death itself…could ever steal away the grace my mama left upon this world.”[/color] Her eyes lowered as the quickening downpour filled the silence. [color=7ea7d8]“She was… gentle, almost to a fault. Strong enough to bear the world’s spite, yet soft enough to make me believe it could never touch me. ”[/color] [color=7ea7d8] “My father… He abandoned her when he learned I was coming into the world. Years later, he came back, but not for her love, not for me… To erase us both.”[/color] Charlotte’s gaze whirled to her, her pupils dilated, but Delilah continued all the same, [color=7ea7d8] “He feared his name would be stained by us. [i]As if we were dirt.[/i] So he… saw to it that she was taken from me.”[/color] Her fingers brushed the gravestone, clinging as if it were the last piece of her mother left in the world. Her voice hollowed out, as she whispered, [color=7ea7d8]“I was only eighteen. I can still hear her whispering…‘Run, baby. Don’t look back.’”[/color] Her lips trembled, but she steadied herself against the grave.[color=7ea7d8] “I did run. And I lost her forever.”[/color] The rain rolled down her cheeks, mingling with tears she did not bother to hide. After a moment, Delilah tilted her head up at Charlotte, [color=7ea7d8] “I like to think she still sees me. That she sees you. That she knows her love did not die with her… That when I ran, it’s you that I eventually ran to…I think she’d be so happy that I have you, Lottie.”[/color] Delilah rose slowly, her knees mud-stained, and cupped Charlotte’s cheek as though cradling something precious. Her thumb trembled against her skin. [color=7ea7d8]“You need to understand: no matter what darkness you think you’re carrying, you have me. [i]Always.[/i] There is no universe where I let something happen to you.”[/color] Her grip tightened, her voice desperate now: [color=7ea7d8]“But you have to let me in, Lottie. You have to tell me what’s going on. Please.”[/color] Charlotte let out a shuddering breath, and she gripped the umbrella so tightly that the handle creaked. [color=D0B4EC]“...I don’t even know where to begin, Lilah… I don’t know what’s going on.”[/color] Her lashes fluttered shut as something finally tumbled out: [color=D0B4EC]“It started with that stubborn hunch: that Mama would never have taken her own life… You all told me to let it go, but I couldn’t. And then Count Damien began circling like a hawk, trying to bend Lorenzo, to bend me. Every step I’ve taken since has only… drawn more eyes, more threats. I’ve somehow gotten myself tangled with this Black Rose company that’s to blame for all these terrible crimes.”[/color] She twisted her wrist against the umbrella like she could wring clarity from the pain. [color=D0B4EC]“Alexander Deacon told me horrors wait for me when I saw at the gallery.”[/color] Her face scrunched up as she then admitted, [color=D0B4EC]“He tried to make me kiss him, but it wasn’t of my own accord. I think he used magic on me… And that wasn’t the only time either. At the ball… someone hexed me. I saw so many things that weren’t real, and now sometimes I still can’t tell what is.”[/color] Her eyes watered, and her voice softened with pain as she lamented. [color=D0B4EC]“And then there’s Cassius... I let myself get so close to Calbert’s son, of all people. “[/color] Her gaze drifted away as though she couldn’t bear to look at Delilah. [color=D0B4EC]“ I… let myself feel something for him. And it frightens me, how much I wanted to trust him… How much I still do… And I hate myself for it all. “[/color] Delilah’s expression shifted as if she’d taken a physical blow from those words. [color=D0B4EC]“I knew what he was, but he’s in my veins in a way that makes me want to rip them out of my own damn skin. And—”[/color] Her hand flew to her lips, trembling. [color=D0B4EC]“I scratched his face and now he [i]hates[/i] me. One moment I was kissing him and then the next… There was this man who was so familiar yet I can’t remember from where– It was like I’ve seen him in my nightmares.”[/color] Charlotte’s countenance crumpled with misery. In that moment, it was as though it were happening all over again. [color=D0B4EC]“I’ve never felt so frightened.”[/color] Her knees nearly buckled as the words rushed out like a dam bursting, [color=D0B4EC]“I don’t know what to do anymore.”[/color] Delilah moved closer, steady hands hovering as if afraid Charlotte might shatter at touch. [color=7F9FCF]“Lottie… look at me.”[/color] Her tone was soft and careful. [color=7F9FCF]“It’s going to be okay..”[/color] Charlotte took a step back. [color=D0B4EC]“I didn’t mean to hurt him, Lilah. I really didn’t. One moment he was kissing me, and then the next that man was there…”[/color] Her throat closed. She pressed the heel of her palm to her eye, but the tears spilled anyway. [color=D0B4EC]“I clawed at him like he was a monster. And when I saw the blood—”[/color] Her voice dropped into a hoarse whisper. [color=D0B4EC]“I’ve never hated myself more.”[/color] Delilah didn’t move for a moment. She let the silence stretch before she asked, [color=7ea7d8]“What did the man do to make you scratch him?”[/color] [color=D0B4EC]“He strapped me down… My wrists, my ankles—He pressed those things against my head, and there was this hum, a terrible hum—”[/color] She curled in on herself as if the sound still vibrated in her bones, rubbing her own arm as if to comfort herself. [color=D0B4EC]“He told me I was delusional. That I was sick. And then the pain—”[/color] A sob choked her voice as she told Delilah, [color=D0B4EC]“It was like burning alive in my skull. I screamed, but no one came. And then suddenly it was Cassius’s face beneath my nails. And I—”[/color] Delilah stared at her with a trembling gaze, lips parting. She exhaled slowly, a burden settling across her shoulders. Her eyes flicked away, as if hiding the truth she already carried could somehow shield Charlotte from it. She had always known what had happened in that place. Perhaps the kindest thing now was to let Charlotte keep believing it was only a nightmare she could still escape upon waking. [color=7ea7d8]“You’ve been through so much, Lottie. And I know you, stubborn as you are, you haven’t told a soul until now, have you?”[/color] Delilah’s sigh was heavy yet resigned. [color=7ea7d8]“And despite it all, you won’t stop… will you?”[/color] For a long moment, Charlotte was still, the rain still pattering against the umbrella like a drumbeat. Then she shook her head, wiping her tears with unsteady fingers. Her voice was hollow, yet held clear resolution as she replied to Delilah. [color=D0B4EC]“You know I can’t.”[/color] Delilah’s voice came low as she challenged, [color=7ea7d8]“Then tell me: how do you suppose we’re meant to face this web you’ve tangled yourself in?”[/color] Charlotte’s gaze dropped to the earth as she shifted her weight onto her other foot, [color=D0B4EC]“I… I have to start from where I should have begun all along. I need to learn everything I can to uncover the truth. And—”[/color] her breath hitched, but she pressed on, [color=D0B4EC]“I’ve had an idea on my mind for some time.”[/color] Delilah’s brows drew together as she stepped closer, her skirts brushing the wet grass. [color=7ea7d8]“Well,”[/color] she said carefully, her voice laced with warmth and warning alike, [color=7ea7d8]“I hope it has nothing more to do with dealing with troublesome men.”[/color] Charlotte huffed a laugh and slipped her arm through Delilah’s, letting herself be guided forward. Her head then rested against Delilah’s shoulder. Delilah adjusted the umbrella so it covered them both more fully, her own head resting briefly against Charlotte’s. Her voice softened as she mused after some time, [color=7ea7d8]“I’ve an idea too.”[/color] Charlotte stirred faintly, glancing at her. [color=7ea7d8]“I think you need to find a way to let go of the guilt you carry over Cassius. I know you, Lottie… I know how it gnaws at you to think you’ve hurt someone... Hurting others was never in your nature.”[/color] Delilah gave Charlotte’s arm a gentle squeeze, her gaze fixed ahead as they made their way back to the carriage. [color=7ea7d8]“Make your peace with the boy, for better or for worse. Even if he is a rake. Even if he is Calbert’s son. Not for him. [i]For you.[/i] Because guilt left to rot will only drag you down when you need to stand tallest.”[/color] [/color]