Silent, Cold and Empty
***
The mountains are cold, empty…silent. He's lived in silence but now he can no longer stand it.
You prefer silence then? As do I, dear child, as do I…. His own words echo inside his head. His Silencer was always quiet. They rarely spoke unless it was important. They followed his orders without question and that was his downfall.
The silence is no longer comforting. It's dark, foreboding and empty. It's never been so empty before. He knows that he walks to his death today. But maybe his Silencer was empty too. Speaker and Silencer both had no life beyond the Brotherhood.
And he's afraid. He's never been so afraid. Was his Silencer afraid? Or was his Silencer too empty and cold to feel? He wonders when he first realized he was afraid. Was he afraid of death? Did his Silencer fear death?
The rumors of a traitor had made him nervous, but he had never been afraid of them.
Dear child, I do not spread rumors….I create them.
The wind picks up and crystals of snow spin around him. He's cold inside. He has always been cold. Killing, destroying, stealing…it's all he's ever known. His Silencer seemed cold. But they never complained. They knew their place.
He needed to be cold. It was his shield. Maybe he was afraid of feeling. Maybe his Silencer was afraid of feeling. Or maybe they both felt too much. Did he finally feel guilt over taking lives?
His thoughts swirled in a brief moment of insanity of all the lives ended by his own hand. So many people…so much blood. But he is still cold. He feels nothing for them. No, he only feels fear today.
He turns to face in the direction of Anvil. It was so far away. Would his Silencer uncover the truth? Would they make it in time?
He scoffs. It's over for him. No matter what his Silencer does. But his name could be cleared…the Night Mother would greet him with a warm embrace.
And for a moment he feels. There's a fire within him for a moment. It's small and flickering, lasting for only a moment. But he holds on to that moment and turns. He enters the old farm house called Applewatch.
He enters into his death…and the Night Mother's embrace.
***