Familiar Faces
An empty woman wearing her brother's skin. Loss. Defeat. Regret. Sorrow.
The setting sun is always so very painful.
"I thought that maybe I could see this undone. See Aubin restored. But... No. I've done enough. Every attempt I've made to save my family only further dooms it."
Raymonde thumped her cane. Vencemonde's body stared at nothing. One bell. The death knell.
" Then why... Why are you here, Raymonde?"
Do you have to ask? What do they usually want from us?
"I think you know why I've come to you, Katja. Better it comes from a friend than from an adversary. Better that it is by your hand."
Executioner. Giggling maniac. Killer? Murderer.
"Raymonde, I-"
Pause for breath. Focus.
"That day when you told me your... Terrible truth. I walked from this place. Lost, for months. The wounds of this wicked world cut my soul to its core."
Did you script this speech? I feel like I've heard it before.
"When I wandered back, this world of light was colourless. Dull. Nothing mattered any longer. My wound screamed, and I with it. But in the end it wasn't my /terrible/ urges that changed anything here. It was compassion. From the soul of a wicked man. Who chose to save someone, instead of taking a life."
Wasn't this supposed to be about her? Ahahaha! I'll have to cut this down for the audience.
"When the sun rose on a world made a little more whole... ? I could not find that wound on my soul.
I don't need to hurt anyone.
I don't want to kill you, old friend. But I will grant you peace, if it is your true desire."
"I'm not asking you to hurt me. I'm asking you merely to make the pain stop. This... Entity I've entrated with... I will be his, once it's over. But... It's hard for me to imagine a torment any worse than the one I presently live."
Oh, I could think of a thing or two. Nheheh.
"Every time I close my eyes. I.. I just want it to end.. and maybe... just maybe I deserve whatever this entity has in store for me. Maybe it's all I've ever deserved. Under the banner of trying to save the family, I've condemned it.. and I've committed the most heinous of sins imaginable. I've... clung to Aubin's bones for long enough. Hoping that I might be able to see him restored to his former self... but it would only bring further ruin, I'm sure. Further misery. Will you.. See him given a proper burial? For me?"
Pain. Like falling into the void. Like drowning.
Swallow. Focus.
"I will, old friend."
"Do the same for my brother as well. He... Didn't deserve this."
"I will make it so. I promise, Raymonde. Give... Give me Aubin's remains. Then- Then sit."
How long must we wander these streets?
She sat. Straight. Watching the sun set on a horizon a thousand miles away.
"I thought I wouldn't be... Afraid. After all, I've stared death in the face before. When... Raymonde first passed away. But... Now? I'm terrified. Yet... I know, in my heart, this is what will end the pain. Maybe... Maybe I'll get to join them, in the end... Maybe one day? They'll... Forgive me for what I've done."
The executioner wept, stepping closer to the condemned. One hand on the shoulder. Death in the other.
"You never deserved this, Raymonde. No one did. This world's chains are so... So heavy. They'll see that, in the end."
"Aubin... Forgive me, Aubin."
"Forgive me, Vencelas."
Be brave now.
She held Raymonde, even as the knife slid from her sleeve.
Take a breath. Hold her tight. Hope that you don't get lost in the night.
"Goodbye, dear friend. I will treasure the days you kept me from the darkness, even if all is shadow."
The knife found its mark, deep in the heart.
"G-Goodbye, Katja... Old friend..."
I will sing for you.
She held the body and wept.
The shadows sang of sorrow.
The curtains closed on a tragedy.