Over and in, last call for sin

Guilt ate her alive. It burned every corner of her vision, etched and scratched its way across each bone inside her. She wanted to cry, but constantly refused to until she made it home safe and sound to her tree. Ever since that night, she tried to avoid him – to avoid seeing the look in his eye after what they had done. She was afraid to see the regret that she knew would line the creases in his eyes as he looked upon her. Would he even speak to her again? She never meant for any of those things to happen – but she had let her guard down. Instinct took over. And Tilney was there for the brunt of it all.

It was late when she slipped away, hoping that Tilney wasn’t going to be near the greenhouse. Hoping that Maude wouldn’t be near the greenhouse. Hoping that anyone she knew wasn’t going to find pleasure in a midnight stroll to the building that had yet to be finished. The quicker she could do this job, the easier it would be for her. She could simply finish it and slink away back to the place she had hid herself away in. Waiting for yet another day to do the same thing. It was cold, snow covered the ground and piled upon her back, hiding some of her scars as if she were back to being the pristine ivory diplomat she had once been. But nothing was pure enough to take the stain out, no matter how much she wished the chill of the snow would do.

When she finally came upon the greenhouse, she focused her attention on the wall that had yet to be finished. Her glassy gaze surveying the world around her in silence as the snow fell in the darkness. Only the moon peaked from above, finding a way to break through the dark clouds that wept silent floating tears into the darkness. With a puff of breath, the fog escaped her lips as she neared the wall. Focusing her energy and sadness into her summon, she pulled mist from the snow and the earth around her, forming it into liquid. The glass moved and swayed as she motioned with her head, allowing the glass to begin on the earth, a swift line forming the last wall from each already existing one. And the more she focused on it, the further it went up the wall. Line after line, until finally it was completed. The only thing missing was the roof. Yet, that would be left for another day. She continued to keep her magic alive, the liquid swaying as she inspected the glass the best she could in the darkness she had wound up in. Finally, she sealed the edges and let the mist return to her environment before closing her eyes and standing still as a pillar, snow collecting across her back as if she was a statue in the moonlight.

"Talk."

while everyone’s lost—

the battle is won.

         with all these things I've done.

Glasgow