[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/PLyfcLV.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/7CEeryv.png[/img][/center]
[color=lightgray][color=ef82a5]Time:[/color] Evening
[color=ef82a5]Location:[/color] The Dungeon
[color=ef82a5]Interactions:[/color]Alibeth, Wulfric, Auguste
[color=ef82a5]Mentions:[/color] [@Oso] Kilian
[color=ef82a5]Attire:[/color][url=https://i.imgur.com/zNTRc78.jpeg]Dress and Hair[/url]
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Wide amber eyes followed Kilian’s departing figure, the echo of rattling chains still ringing in her ears. The heavy door’s echo rolled through the air of the dungeon until it was swallowed by silence. Pressed to the wall just beyond the corner, Anastasia held her breath as if any sound from her might call him back.

Only when the guards settled again, and his footsteps vanished, did she move. She slipped back to her mother’s cell and, there at the bars, her knees simply gave out. She sank onto the damp floor, pink skirts pooling around her. Her braid had loosened in the dungeon’s thick air, platinum strands clinging to her cheeks. The princess stood out in the dark, stone hall, as if a pink blossom had dropped into the gutter. 

Her hands wouldn’t stop trembling. She curled them into the fabric of her dress just to keep them still.

Inside the cell, her mother sat in the corner, in the same dress she had worn to the banquet, her expression too calm and too still, as though she’d already accepted the gallows.

[color=a187be]“I confess, I am rather surprised to find you here instead of out reveling in the Drunkard’s Day chaos, Anastasia… It [i]is[/i] one of your favorite holidays, after all.”[/color] The queen’s tone was dry as parchment, and Anastasia did not bother to answer.

For a while, there was only the sound of the drip of water and the crackle of torches.

Anastasia’s voice finally broke the silence in a whisper, [color=#E77298]“Why… why have you done this, Mother?”[/color]

Alibeth’s gaze moved over her daughter, over the bowed head that refused to look up at her. [color=a187be]“You know why, Anastasia.”[/color] Her brows furrowed, and her eyes narrowed. [color=a187be]“Your brother has always been skeptical. If I could not [i]prove[/i] the existence of magic, he could not take the measures required to protect himself, the kingdom, and our family. A warning without evidence is dismissed as hysteria. A demonstration is [i]remembered[/i]—”[/color]

[color=#E77298]“No. That—”[/color] Anastasia’s fingers dug harder into her skirts. Her voice broke, then surged back. She pushed herself to her feet. [color=#E77298]“That I understand.”[/color]

Alibeth’s brows lifted. It was the first hint of surprise she had seen in her mother that day. Anastasia finally met her eyes, and the queen’s expression softened at the sight of her daughter’s trembling lips.

[color=#E77298]“I understand, mama…”[/color] The princess's voice was soft despite the rawness she had previously displayed. Tears spilled freely now. [color=#E77298]“When Auguste told me, he was so, [i]so[/i] gentle. He wanted me to know what happened, but he didn’t want me to hate you for it.”[/color]

She laughed then; it was a short, cracked sound that hurt to hear. [color=#E77298]“Maybe you never understood me. But I have always [i]understood[/i] you. I know you just wanted to protect us.”[/color] The softness in her eyes hardened. [color=#E77298]“What I don’t understand,”[/color] she went on, [color=#E77298]“is why you think you need men like [i]that[/i]—”[/color] She jabbed a finger down the corridor where Kilian had vanished, disgust curling her lip. [color=#E77298]“—to take responsibility for our protection. Why would you call them here? You have no idea what you’ve done.”[/color]

Her voice climbed, pitch edging toward panic. [color=#E77298]“It's not just that girl he's dragging around on a chain, mother! Did you not stop and think who else you might be condemning to their deaths? ”[/color]

The question hung between them a moment.

Inside the cell, Alibeth did not flinch. Her hands rested neatly in her lap, fingers interlaced. [color=a187be]“Of course, Anastasia.”[/color] Her tone was almost gentle now, as if she were correcting Anastasia. [color=a187be]“There are always more. There always have been..."[/color] She held Anastasia's gaze with an intensity that scared her. [color=a187be]“And they [i]all[/i] must die if our kingdom is going to prosper.”[/color]

[color=#E77298]“Why!”[/color] The word tore out of her in a shout of fury. [color=#E77298]“Why does it always have to be [i]blood[/i]? Why does it have to be [i]you[/i] doing it?”[/color]

Her hands flew up, fingers shaking in the air as if she were grasping at something she couldn’t quite hold. The next words came out before she could stop them, dragged from the deepest part of her fear. [i][color=#E77298]“What happens when they find out about Callum?”[/color][/i]

For the first time, Alibeth’s composure cracked. There was a tangible pause, her shoulders stiffened... There was a flicker in her eyes that Anastasia had never seen before.

[color=a187be]“…Why Callum?”[/color] 

Anastasia stared at her, tears shimmering on her lashes, [color=#E77298]“Because Callum uses magic,”[/color] she said, [color=#E77298]“My little brother. [i]Your son.[/i] And you have just painted a target on every witch in Caesonia—on [i]him[/i]—on who knows who the [i]fuck[/i] else! If you've used it for a reason that made sense to you, why is it so hard to think that others have done the same thing?”[/color]

She took a small, shaky step closer to the bars, until there was almost nothing between them.

[color=#E77298]“You've always talked like you know more than anyone else. You claim you do all this to protect us,”[/color] Anastasia's pupils were wide, her pupils dilated, unfocused as she asked, [color=#E77298]“but how are you going to protect Callum?”[/color]

Alibeth’s hands had tightened in her lap, knuckles pale. There was shock visible in her expression, and something that might have been fear. [color=#a187be]“Are you certain?”[/color] she asked at last, [color=#a187be]“Not rumor. Not tavern gossip. You [i]know[/i]?”[/color]

Anastasia’s lips trembled. [color=#E77298]“I know,”[/color] she whispered. [color=#E77298]“I’ve [i]seen[/i] it...”[/color]

A breath left the queen as if she had been struck. When her gaze returned to her daughter, [color=#a187be]“You have felt what magic is, Anastasia. You have seen what it does. You watched Darryn dissolve into something unrecognizable. You have felt its evil when you faced that child with the ‘dark energy’ you described. You [i]know[/i] this power destroys those who wield it. Your brother will walk the same path if he is not stopped before it is too late.”[/color]

She leaned forward,[color=#a187be]“You are asking me to protect him from the consequences of what he has chosen to become. I am trying to spare him from something far worse than any hunter.”[/color]

Anastasia stared at her, disbelief flooding in where fear had been. [color=#E77298]“Spare him?”[/color] 

[color=#a187be]"Where is he, Anastasia?"[/color]

[color=#E77298]“I don't know. I haven't seen him since the banquet."[/color] Anastasia snapped. [color=#E77298]“Father says he knows where he is and isn't worried; but frankly, the rest of us are."[/color]

Footsteps echoed at the far end of the hall. Voices that were muffled at first, then clearer as they drew nearer. The particular cadence was unmistakable. [i]Wulfric.[/i] And Auguste too.

Anastasia flinched, wiping at her cheeks too late. When she turned, the two princes were already coming into view.

The guards straightened at once, bowing their heads. 

Auguste’s gaze went first to his sister: skirts damp, hair a mess, eyes red-rimmed. Whatever smile he had prepared for her died instantly. He crossed the remaining distance in a few strides and dropped into a crouch at her side without a word, one hand coming to rest at the small of her back.

Wulfric’s eyes flicked from Anastasia to the queen inside the cell. He took his place just behind his siblings.

[color=#E77298]“Auguste…”[/color] Anastasia’s voice came out ragged as she leaned into him, fingers clutching at his sleeve. Pointedly, she avoided acknowledging Wulfric.

Alibeth’s gaze swept over her sons. [color=#a187be]“How good of you both to join us,”[/color] she remarked. [color=#a187be]“Since fate has chosen to gather you here, it is only fitting that I tell you finally who I really am... and from where I came from.”[/color]


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