Notes
And here's the end. Glad at least a few of you have been enjoying it. Thanks for your comments! Sorry to anyone who might have expected typical shippy stuff and been disappointed. I had another purpose here, though it wasn't to 'bash' or 'crush' any 'ship' - love both the pairings this story is labeled with. Well, enjoy.

7

The Witch's Epilogue

"I'm so bored of this," Bernkastel complained. She lay on the bed to her side, facing away from Lambdadelta.

"Because it's all over?" Lambdadelta suggested. She snuggled close to Bernkastel, reaching her hand over to tickle her lover's face. "Don't worry, I'm looking out for a story that'll last way longer."

"If it's as boring as this story, I can't see the point," Bernkastel said.

Lambdadelta scowled now. "Come on, it was really, really interesting. Even after you defeated me, you had to be impressed, right?"

"Not really," Bernkastel said.

"Your story was way more mundane than this, and you find it boring," Lambdadelta said.

Bernkastel lazily sat up now. As Lambdadelta stared at her with some expectation, she just stared back coldly. "Don't mention anything related to 'my' story again," she said.

"Hmph." Lambdadelta smirked. "Do you really expect I can't forever and ever?" she asked. The witch of certainty sat up and wrapped her arms around Bernkastel, who still stared ahead blankly. "It's something we shared, and what brought us all together. So how can I just forget about it? I mean, can you?"

Though Lambdadelta waited for an answer, Bernkastel didn't give one, only slid Lambdadelta's arms off of her, standing up now.

"You can't blame me for being curious," Lambdadelta said.

"I can blame you for anything I'd like," Bernkastel said, shrugging as she stared over at the blank wall.

"But can't you just tell me one thing, please?" Lambdadelta begged. "I promise I won't mention anything to you for at least another thousand years."

"Hmph. Even if I agreed, what could I possibly tell you? By now, you should know as much as me, maybe even more," Bernkastel said.

"Well, I'm just curious about you on a personal level. You are fascinating, you know. You still lived out the rest of your life as a human, right? What did you do? Did you find anything satisfying? Did your true love ever come back to you?"

Bernkastel cringed as Lambdadelta practically sang her questions. "That's enough," Bernkastel said. Her story shouldn't be treated just like any other that they happened to come upon. But as the distaste entered her mouth, Bernkastel found herself overtaken with thoughts of the worlds she'd originated from. She peered back over at Lambdadelta, deciding it might not be that terrible to have someone to talk about it with. "My story is rather boring," Bernkastel admitted. "But things would have been different if I were allowed to be human. I still would have been satisfied with it all, if I could have finished my life with Satoko by my side."

"So then you didn't?" Lambdadelta sounded disappointed.

Bernkastel smirked. Lambdadelta would have been jealous if she had, but even knowing the truth there was this reaction. "If it were only my choice, I would have. Satoko was free to make her own choices as well."

"Glad you've moved on from that," Lambdadelta said. She rolled to the side and stared at the ceiling. "I didn't think the you that just sat back and took the punishment was very interesting."

Lambdadelta was just considering Rika's fate to be like a book she'd read with a disappointing ending, Bernkastel considered scornfully. "There was no punishment, I just got no reward," Bernkastel informed. She lay down again, and giggled slightly as she hugged Lambdadelta again.

"What's funny? Come on Bern, you've got to let me in on the joke."

Bernkastel looked to the side, then back at Lambdadelta, deciding to share. "There may not have been a reward for me, but the lack of such wasn't without consequences for everyone else either."

"What consequences?" Lambdadelta said.

"I may have lived with endless hope and no gratification, but eventually I had to die. I made sure to leave no children. You know the consequences for that, right?"

"No queen carrier!" Lambdadelta realized. "But Bern, you realize that was-"

"A highly exaggerated theory," Bernkastel said, twirling her hand around a strand of Lambdadelta's hair. "However, it had some factual basis. Certain members of my family, including myself, did play a part in quieting that 'curse' over the years. When experiencing the effects of the 'curse', those villagers will suffer without that 'queen carrier', as you and your piece put it. So, Oyashiro-sama's curse can become my curse. With the power I have now, I can amplify it unto all. I could incite anything from a dull anxiety to a terrific destruction. Which do you think would be more interesting?"

"Just seeing you enjoy yourself like that, I would too, either way. I know what you'd consider more 'fun', anyway. But would you really do that? To everyone you loved? All those people you wanted to protect from me?" Lambdadelta asked.

Bernkastel stood up again. As she did, the scythe appeared in her hand. She went off to the desired fragment, standing in the middle of Hinamizawa, the place she'd lived out her life. There wasn't one face she didn't know here, unless any happened to visit or be born after her death as a human. This beloved town had been both a prison and everything to her.

"Feeling some regrets?" Lambdadelta asked, brushing off her dress after she'd caught up with Bernkastel.

"None at all," Bernkastel said, waving her scythe in front of her. "None ever again. I've just come here since I realized I can end them all myself, with my curse." Bernkastel laughed. "Not all bad deeds come back to the person, but after this place took all my love and broke my hope, all I want to do is smash it to bits."

Bernkastel moved in the clearing, getting ready to perform the proper magic. "Everyone," she began, pausing to consider that word. Yes, she meant everyone - all of her friends, neighbors, and their children, every last person without a single hesitation. This entire welcoming town and all it promised was just a lie, so they'd all be better off. No, there was nothing to preserve here.

Bernkastel calmly gripped her scythe and grinned. "Everyone can just die."