Annalise watched him for a while, simply observing the conflict that was arising in his own mind. She could see him pass between madness, then doubt, and perhaps even sympathy, but it was mostly the madness that flooded his eyes.
Finally, after the tears had dried from her cheeks and she found a steady voice again, she spoke, albeit still a soft little sound, "We are at an impasse, then. You still wish to kill me, and I simply cannot die, even though the urge calls to me."
She looked down at her hands, almost demurely, and she wished she was again truly young, a foolish noble girl with a foolish romantic dream. Maybe, if she could really relive her life, she would have chosen Alfred. He might have hated her then too, but he was determined, and committed.
"Do not put words in my mouth," the words had a hard edge to them, but when she looked up towards his face it did not have the same jaggedness to it. No, it was soft, even.
"What are you talking about? Have you forgotten your goal already, the goal you have most likely held dear the whole of your childhood – to bring glory to an order than has long since seen its own destruction?" She knew she was rambling, but what more was there to do than to talk and talk and talk when the night was already so long?
"I said," this Alfred gritted through teeth that grinded upon each other in protest, "do not put words in my mouth." He sighed and his shoulders slumped as if in defeat.
He looked upon Annalise once more, taking her in, as if weighing his options over an inevitable decision. Finally, he strode over to the dais and sat upon the throne that stood beside her own. She eyed him questionably, but otherwise did not protest. Even in the space between them, she could feel his warmth, his agitation. It had been so long since someone had sat beside her, had her company.
Finally he turned to her, "It's obvious that the Church has hidden much from me," his voice was a soft whisper that echoed off the stone of her prison, and she wanted to believe its gentleness, "and I do not claim you know all of its secrets, but perhaps…"
He trailed off, and she waited.
"Perhaps you could tell your own story. From the beginning. No secrets, for I shall know if you are lying," the madness had returned to his eyes, yet she felt no fear of being choked again. As soon as it was there, it was gone again, "Just – there is no reason to keep secrets… is there?"
She nodded, and stared into his eyes with sincerity. She understood.
"Yes, well, go ahead then. I'll listen. I won't even try to harm you this time," He smirked, and she almost flinched from the shock that the man whose goal had been to kill her his entire life was… trying to be smart with her.
She blinked owlishly at him, before gathering her bearings and beginning her own tale.
"I was, long ago, the daughter of the King and Queen of this castle…"
A/N: Thank you for the reviews, the fav, and the follows! :)
