A quick review response before we begin-
Guest (Sorry, you don't have a username): Yes, we are now firmly in AU territory. Annalise's death was just something that needed to happen so that the story I wanted to tell could run smoothly. A story of succession doesn't really work if there's already someone on the throne, you know? Annalise also doesn't really have anything to do with the character dynamics I've been setting up, and having her around just felt like an unnecessary burden. I cannot give spoilers as to how Elizabeth's story will turn out, but I'm glad you like her. Vilebloods forever!
"Hello Maria" the bloody crow grinned.
"...Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth resembled Maria in many ways. They both had their mother's hazel-green eyes and sharp jawline, as well as gorgeous platinum blonde hair, a Cainhurst signature. Where they differed was in height, as Maria was a few inches taller. Elizabeth also had a habit of glaring when she was upset, and that habit had left her brow in a near perpetual furrow, which gave her a very stern look to her most of the time. Her abrasive attitude did little to mitigate this.
Maria couldn't believe her eyes. Her prey, the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst, was none other than her own sister! Maria was gripped by the sudden urge to run and embrace Elizabeth, but her gut told her that was a stupid idea. The crow had tried to kill her twice, after all.
"In the flesh," Elizabeth enunciated. "Now then, will someone tell me whose idea it was to give this honorless harlot a crown?" she gestured to Katrina.
"Disrespectful," Chessa growled. "What say have thee in matters of succession? And why hast thou brought outsiders into our halls? Speak!"
"Maria, why don't you tell your friends what you've been hiding from them?" Elizabeth asked.
Maria remained silent.
"No? Then I'll tell them myself. You see, Maria and I are daughters of Annastasia Cain. That makes the queen our second aunt, which means our claims to the throne are equal, meaning the crown would go not to the closest related, but to the eldest" Elizabeth couldn't stop the grin from spreading across her face. "Now, Katrina, was it? I couldn't help but notice you said you were ninety-two years of age. Well, I recently celebrated my one hundred and twelfth. Your claim is worthless, I'm afraid."
Katrina was left speechless. The knights gathered around the podium glanced uneasily at each other, unsure of how to react. Chessa stared back at Elizabeth, an unreadable expression on her face. Maria saw this as her cue to step in.
"Who's getting ahead of herself now?" she questioned. "I'm three years your elder, little sister."
"I've no interest in a pissing contest with you, Maria. You abandoned Cainhurst when we needed you most, you lied about your heritage because you didn't want to be queen, and you came crawling back after all these years with an Executioner at your heel! I think it's clear where your loyalties lie."
"Yes, I think so too," Maria countered, positioning herself between Katrina and Elizabeth. "My loyalties lie with the people. All I've ever done is to improve the lives of the common folk who work every day to keep our great nations intact, people who you wouldn't lift a finger to help if given the opportunity."
"Rollicking in the muck with peasants," Elizabeth spat, drawing her chikage. "Allow me to show you the error of your ways."
At her command, the squad of Yahar-Gul hunters likewise readied their weapons, a cacaphony of metallic clinks filling the room as tontiruses were struck and canes extended. Maria's hand flew to Rakuyo's pommel, ready to draw if necessary.
"It is sacrilege of the highest form to spill blood in Cain's throne room!" Chessa fumed, setting the bejeweled crown on a nearby pedestal. "Elizabeth Cain, sheath thine blade at once!"
Elizabeth did as she was requested, dropping to one knee with her left arm outstretched in a formal sign of deference. The hunters behind her reluctantly lowered their weapons, but kept them at the ready.
Chessa rounded on Katrina.
"Is this true?" she demanded.
"Chessa, I'm-" Katrina began.
"She didn't know," Maria cut in. "I lied about my claim because I knew Katrina would have made a better queen than I."
Chessa's eyes grew wide, and her lip curled in disgust.
"To disrupt the line of succession… such sins have never been documented, they are so unthinkable! Thou hast a duty to uphold to thine people as one of the last Vilebloods alive. Thou would forsake thine family, thine duty, thine blood itself?!"
"I would, and I have," Maria shot back, now thoroughly angered. "And in case you were curious, my 'duty' to the people has been fulfilled three times over. I have played a part in every single hunt from the days of Byrgenwyrth to the advent of the church. All I have ever done has been for the sake of saving lives, and of protecting the people. What have any of you done other than sit on your asses, fattening yourselves on blood while the hunt rages outside? Don't speak to me of honor, or of my duty to the people. You care for neither."
Chessa had her mouth open in anger, but no retort escaped her parted lips. Many of the knights shifted uncomfortably, and Katrina appeared unable to look Maria in the eye. That was probably a few steps too far, but Maria no longer cared. It was no secret that the Cainhurst nobility cared more for their voluptuous lifestyle than for their own people, and the fact that one of them saw fit to lecture her on her 'duty' was infuriating to no end.
"If you don't want the crown, Maria, then fall on your sword," Elizabeth suggested, a malicious edge to her voice. "We have two other candidates in this room, we don't need you."
"U-um, Maria?" Katrina asked.
"The only thing Gehrman taught you how to do was talk big," Elizabeth continued, her voice dripping with vitriol. "And you don't even do it well. You say you were out in the field saving lives while we sat at home like cowards, well I say you ran away from your home, your family, your responsibilities, all because it scared you. You're an entitled, irreverent fool, Maria. You got to go to the best college in the country, and start a new life free of any worry or trauma. Meanwhile, mother lost her life defending her home, and I won't even tell you the things I had to do to make it out of here alive. Why did you go with Gehrman anyway? Did you really want to become a hunter, or did you just want to polish his scythe?!"
"Maria?" Katrina asked, more firmly this time.
"And to think I was almost excited at the prospect of seeing you again," Maria spat, ignoring Katrina entirely. "I hear mother's voice coming from your mouth, but you're not half the woman she was. You're a petty, arrogant brat who kills weaker hunters for the fun of it."
"Not just hunters, Maria. Executioners. I tempered my blade in the blood of those who have wronged us, while you nestled up to Laurence, and broke bread with our enemies! And look where it's gotten you! The church is in shambles, Yharnam is in ruins! You've lost! I gave you one-"
"Maria!" Katrina screamed.
"What?!" Elizabeth and Maria yelled back in unison.
"Where is Alfred?"
"He's right here, he's…" Maria turned to the spot where Alfred had been standing to find it vacant. He had been there just a few seconds ago, hadn't he?
"Did anyone see him walk out?" Elizabeth demanded.
An angered gasp escaped Maria's lips.
"That little shit, I know what he's up to!" she exclaimed.
One set of manacles fell to the snowy ground with a soft clink. Alfred fumbled with the lockpicks, attempting to unlock the other one as quickly as possible. The fierce cold nipped at his cheeks and turned his fingers numb, though it was nothing compared to what Logarius must be experiencing. Just a little more, and father would be free. Just a little-
"What the hell are you doing?"
Alfred whirled around to find Maria standing in the doorway, a disapproving glare etched across her features. She kept a neutral stance, but her right hand stroked Rakuyo's pommel, ready to draw the weapon in the blink of an eye if need be.
"Oh, hello, Maria. I'm sure this looks terrible, doesn't it?"
"Mhm. I'm going to have to ask you to stop," she replied coldly.
"Maria, please just listen to me. I heard those things you said back there, I know you hate the vilebloods as much as I do! They're a bunch of soulless, self-centered leeches with no regard for anyone beneath them! That's why you left home, isn't it? Because you couldn't stand all their profanity, their evil, their corruption! Maria, let me burn it all to the ground with my father, you want that as much as I do!"
Maria stood resolute, but the slightest hint of hesitation touched her eyes. He had gotten through to her, if only a bit.
"Alfred, the others are going to be here soon. I'm not going to kill you, but they will. Come with me, and I'll tell them you just wandered off, you don't have to get hurt," she said, extending a hand. "Please, Alfred."
Alfred offered a sad smile in return. And then he unlocked the final set of manacles. Logarius stirred, rubbing his frostbitten wrists in disbelief. He exhaled slowly, and reached for his scythe.
Maria's gentle expression twisted into to one of disappointment and scorn.
"Alfred, you idiot," she muttered, unsheathing Rakuyo.
Martyr Logarius laid one enormous hand on Alfred's shoulder.
"My… son," he groaned, standing to his full height, which must have been at least ten feet. "I have... a son!"
Elizabeth and Katrina appeared in the doorway beside Maria, Katrina clutching her reiterpallasch, and Elizabeth her chikage.
"What the- Alfred!" Katrina shouted. "We trusted thee!"
Alfred drew his sword, and muttered a prayer under his breath.
"Father, we're in luck! Those are the last three vilebloods in the world," he cried, gesturing to the three women standing in the doorway.
Logarius' laugh echoed within the confines of his golden ardeo. He hefted his scythe, feeling the weight in his hands.
"Then let us begin," he murmured, slowly advancing on the trio of vilebloods.
"What say thee we form a temporary truce?" Katrina proposed.
"That would be ideal, yes," Elizabeth replied.
"Perfect. Katrina, you take Alfred. Me and Elizabeth will handle Logarius."
Katrina nodded solemnly.
"We'll need to separate them," Elizabeth suggested. "Executioners fight better when they have someone to fall back on."
"Understood. Let's go!" Maria shouted, striding onto the snow-covered roof.
"Everyone, on me!" Elizabeth shouted to her band of Yahar-Gul hunters. Together, the twenty-odd hunters charged out into the snow, the air brimming with static electricity as so many tonitruses were activated at once. Alfred and Logarius charged to meet their competition, and the fight was on.
Logarius' scythe flashed red, and trails of crimson filled the air as he swung his weapon in a wide arc, clearing an entire row of black-clad hunters. Alfred fought like a champion, his Executioner swordsmanship faring very well in a fight against more than one opponent. The father and son duo complemented one another very well, Logarius spelling doom for another hunter with each swing of his bloodsoaked scythe, and Alfred staying beneath him, picking off anyone who got through his father's assault.
Maria activated her quickening, racing through the blade of Logarius' scythe as though it were insubstantial. She rematerialized left of Logarius, and planted a firm kick right in Alfred's sternum. The younger man was sent sprawling, gasping for breath as he struggled to get up.
"Katrina! On him, now!" Maria shouted, splitting Rakuyo in half in preparation to face Logarius.
Doing as she was told, Katrina pounced on Alfred like a cat hunting a mouse, intending not to kill, but to prevent Alfred from lending help to his father. Alfred staggered to his feet, holding his sword in a defensive stance to avoid being punctured by Katrina's wicked rapier.
"Close the lines, cut them off!" Elizabeth commanded. The Yahar-Gul hunters obeyed her, shifting their positions so that five of them were in between Alfred and Logarius.
"Alfred!" Logarius exclaimed, lifting his scythe in preparation to clear a path to his son. The enormous man grunted in pain as Maria landed a double-bladed slash right across his midsection, skin and muscle parting like butter beneath the razor blades of Rakuyo.
"Don't get ahead of yourself," Maria growled.
"I'll split you in twain," Logarius boomed, swinging his scythe in a diagonal arc.
Maria ducked beneath the swing and quickstepped forwards, aggressively pressing the assault on the vastly outnumbered Logarius. A number of hunters followed her example, and Logarius was pelted with arcs of lightning, serrated chains, and sprays of quicksilver. But no matter how many times he got hit, Logarius never faltered in his onslaught. He swung his scythe again and again, and the hunters' ranks began to rapidly thin as the snow turned red beneath their boots. Elizabeth was now leading the attack, spurring her warriors onward as she struck Logarius again and again with her razor-sharp chikage.
As time dragged on however, it became increasingly clear that an all-out brawl would not be enough to lay Logarius low. Despite Elizabeth's best efforts, Logarius just wouldn't die, and his blood-infused scythe had spelled doom for all but six of Elizabeth's hunters. Maria knew they were outmatched. It would take something big to beat Logarius now.
"Elizabeth!" Maria called. "Get ready. I'm going to make an opening!"
"Make it quick!" her sister replied, narrowly dodging Logarius' scythe.
Maria took a deep breath, and dashed forwards, straight towards Logarius, who had his back to her. She let out a yell, and thrust the longer half of Rakuyo directly into the back of Logarius' left knee, pushing it in as far as it would go. Logarius bellowed in pain, and whirled around to face his assailant, Rakuyo's blade still embedded in his leg. Enraged, he swung his iron polearm with all his might, but Maria had anticipated such a move. She quickly drew and fired, sending a bullet whizzing into the hulking man's shoulder. The entry wound sizzled violently, and Logarius' muscles tensed as molten quicksilver raced through his veins. The quicksilver was almost preternaturally effective, and he was paralyzed in less than a second.
Maria raised one gloved hand, and plunged it deep into Logarius' chest. The man grunted in pain as she ripped her hand free, clutching a handful of viscera. Logarius stumbled backwards, trying to put distance between himself and Maria, but he ended up putting too much weight onto his wounded left leg. His leg buckled, and he slumped to one knee, holding his scythe in front of him in a defensive stance.
"Elizabeth! Now!" Maria shouted, but Elizabeth had already seen her opportunity, and was running full speed towards Logarius. She took a running leap, and threw herself onto the executioner's back, wrapping her legs around his torso. Logarius bucked in surprise, trying to shake Elizabeth off of him, but it was too late. Brandishing her blood-bladed chikage, Elizabeth measured once, and then struck Logarius right on the back of his neck, decapitating the executioner with one fell swing. The golden ardeo struck the icy roof, and was followed in short succession by a cry of shock from Alfred, and a cheer from Katrina. Elizabeth slid off the corpse's back, though the headless body didn't fall. Rather, it stayed standing upright and monolithic, its muscles oddly rigid, and its chest still heaving.
"Corruption… corruption everywhere..." the severed head muttered from inside its golden helmet. "Corruption… vile blood… my son!"
The headless corpse reached down, and picked up its severed head. The three Vilebloods watched in stunned horror as Logarius lifted his head up, and planted it back on the stump of his neck. Arteries fused together, muscles reknit, vertebrae snapped into place, and Logarius' injury sealed up as though it had never been.
"He's unkillable," Maria breathed.
"He must have absorbed too much blood," Elizabeth growled. "Stay on your toes, this isn't over."
Logarius began to hobble towards them, Rakuyo's longer half still embedded in his left knee.
"What's the plan?" Elizabeth asked, slowly backing away from the advancing Logarius.
Maria remained silent. Katrina was still locked in a melee with Alfred, and neither looked to be gaining the upper hand. Only five of Elizabeth's hunters remained, and they were heavily outmatched. To top it all off, half of Maria's sword was still stuck in Logarius' leg, which hampered his movement, but left Maria virtually defenseless. They could try to kill him again, but for all they knew he'd just reanimate. There was no surefire path to victory, unless they could trap him somehow. The chained manacles in the center of the roof were the ideal option, but there was no way to hold him down long enough to put them back on. Unless…
When Maria had shot Logarius, he had had an extreme reaction to the quicksilver, almost as if he was susceptible somehow. And when Elizabeth had decapitated him, the blood blade had passed through the neck very easily. Almost too easily. As Maria looked closer at Logarius, she noticed that his skin was rather pale, even for someone who had been out in the cold. This, combined with Alfred's similarly pale complexion and lack of stamina suggested a very simple conclusion.
"He's an anemic," Maria realized.
"What?" Elizabeth asked.
"It's hereditary anemia. He and Alfred both have it. His blood is thin, which makes him susceptible to blood-based attacks," she explained.
"What good is that if he won't die?"
"We'll lure him back to the center. If he's weak to quicksilver, that means we can stun him, and force the manacles back on. Then it won't be a problem."
Elizabeth thought for a moment.
"It's the best chance we've got, I suppose," she concluded. "Now would be a good time to use your blood arts."
Maria's reply was instantaneous.
"No."
"What do you mean, 'no'?" Elizabeth snapped. "You just told me he's weak to blood!"
"I'll use my pistol. Blood blades won't do anything if he won't die," Maria retorted.
"Fine. Get to the chair, I'll bring him closer."
Obeying orders, Maria retreated a few steps backwards, taking up a defensive position in front of Logarius' seat. The manacles were affixed to the arms of the chair by two seven-foot long reinforced chains. They would have to lure him in close if this was going to work.
Following Maria's lead, the six remaining Mensis hunters arranged themselves in a wide semicircle around the huntress. That left Elizabeth staring down a furious Logarius. The Executioner chief hobbled ever closer, grunting with pain every time he put weight on his wounded knee.
"A pity your blood is so thin," Elizabeth taunted. "Here I was hoping for a drink."
"Your lineage ends here!" Logarius roared, lurching towards his foe.
Logarius swung his scythe like a savage, but Elizabeth was too nimble. She backstepped every time the larger man swung at her, taking advantage of his apparent tunnel vision to expertly maneuver him ever closer to the manacles. Logarius, enraged at his inability to quash his seemingly inferior opponent, became increasingly belligerent in his attacks, relentlessly advancing right into the semicircle of hunters.
"Maria, now!" Elizabeth called, darting behind the chair. Logarius came barreling in, swinging his weapon like a madman. Maria took a deep breath, aimed, and fired just as Logarius reached her. The bullet struck Logarius square in the navel, and the giant of a man came skidding to a halt as his muscles tensed up in an adverse reaction to the molten mercury. Maria plunged her hand deep into Logarius' chest, but rather than rip it free, she held it their, holding Logarius down with all her might. The six Mensis hunters joined in, using their collective weight to hold Logarius down.
"Elizabeth! The manacles! Now!" Maria screamed, pulling the executioner as close as she could to his iron prison.
Elizabeth grabbed one manacle, and managed to just barely snap it closed onto his right arm, the one holding his scythe.
"The other one! Hurry!"
"I've got it. Just hold him still!" Elizabeth shouted back.
The quicksilver was beginning to wear off, and Logarius had begun to strain against the iron chains locking his right arm in place. Try as they might, ordinary hunters just weren't strong enough to hold Logarius down for any reasonable amount of time.
"I can't hold him!" Maria exclaimed.
In a burst of strength that could put a cave bear to shame, Logarius grabbed Maria by the cuff of her jacket, and flung her into the ground as hard as he could. Maria felt the air leave her lungs, and could swear she heard a couple of her ribs pop.
Elizabeth was unable to react in time, and Logarius' cinder block of a fist closed around her throat, and lifted her into the air like a ragdoll. The Mensis hunters were unable to do anything to stop the executioner as he choked the life out of their master.
"Maria," Elizabeth strained. "Use… your blood… art."
Maria shakily got to her feet, taking deep breaths to make sure her lungs weren't damaged. There's another way, she thought. There must be.
"Maria," Elizabeth whispered with failing breath. "Please."
"I won't. I'm sorry!" Maria cried, lurching towards Logarius. She had sworn she'd never use her blood arts, but if being a hunter had taught her one thing, it's that there's always an alternative solution. She grabbed the half of Rakuyo still embedded in Logarius' knee, and gave it a hearty twist. Logarius roared in absolute agony, his leg spasming as if it had been electrocuted. Unfortunately for the executioner chief, his right hand was chained up, and his left was holding Elizabeth, thus leaving him virtually defenseless. Maria gave the sword another jerk, and this time Logarius's fingers loosened just enough for Elizabeth to squeeze out. The bloody crow fell to the ground gasping for air, her neck visibly bruised.
Logarius grabbed Maria by the arm, but this would prove fatal. Elizabeth, somehow still standing, grabbed the second set of manacles, and snapped it closed around Logarius' arm. With a growl, Maria slammed her elbow into Logarius' hand, breaking two of his knuckles and forcing him to let go.
The two sisters staggered backwards as Logarius raged against his chains, unable to reach his opponents. The executioner bellowed curses as he attempted to free himself, but to no avail. The chains were strong, and the manacles reinforced. He wouldn't be breaking out on his own anytime soon.
Maria offered her sister a friendly nod. Elizabeth merely stared back dismissively.
Katrina had downed her opponent in like manner. Alfred was kneeling on the ground, hands on the back of his head. He glared indignantly up at Katrina, who had her sword pressed against his throat. Cainhurst had emerged victorious tonight.
A group of knights and nobles had congregated around the scene of the battle, and Chessa stood among them. All stood aghast at the carnage splayed out before them. No less than fourteen corpses littered the roof of the great keep, and the freshly-fallen snow had been painted red by fountains of blood, both from Logarius and the fallen hunters. Cainhurstians were no strangers to blood, but to see the aftermath of such a violent ordeal would turn anyone's stomach.
"This is what we get for trusting Executioners," Chessa grumbled, picking her way across the blood soaked roof to where Maria and Elizabeth were standing. "A fine job thou did, dealing with those cretins," she complimented, though her eyes were focused on Elizabeth.
"It's what I do best," Elizabeth laughed, her voice still hoarse from the throttling she took.
"What should I do with him?" Katrina asked, lightly poking Alfred's cheek with the tip of her sword.
"Kill him," Chessa articulated as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Don't kill him," Maria groaned. "I let him in. This is my responsibility."
"Then you kill him," Elizabeth cut in.
"No! We don't slaughter the helpless," Maria retorted. "We defeated him, now we lock him up, same as his father."
Alfred looked a bit taken aback by that. He shot Maria a quick smile, but was met with cool indifference on her part.
"Whatever. Throw him in irons if you will. I have bigger worries at the moment," Elizabeth conceded.
Chessa, now outnumbered, reluctantly clapped her hands twice. At her signal, two red-clad knights grabbed Alfred by each of his arms, and dragged him off, presumably to the dungeons. The frightened man protested heavily, but Maria had already wasted too much energy covering for him. This was a fitting punishment, even she had to admit.
"So, Maria," Elizabeth began. "Would you mind telling me what the hell that was?"
"I'm not interested in another spat with you, Elizabeth," Maria dodged the question, hoping to dissuade further prodding. Elizabeth wasn't one to give in so easily though.
"Don't act stupid. You could easily have lopped his arm off if you had used your blood arts! So why didn't you?"
"My method payed off. And I don't use my blood arts," Maria stated, now acutely aware how many eyes were on them. There was no shame in how she chose to fight, but her fellow vilebloods didn't see it that way. Particularly Elizabeth.
"Not using your blood arts, then?" Elizabeth questioned. "Why?"
Maria didn't have a reply, and so she elected to remain silent. For a few moments, the only sounds in the air were Logarius' shouts of rage and frustration.
"Gehrman trained you well. What did he have to do to you to get you to repress yourself like this?" Elizabeth spoke with a domineering tone, though Maria could swear she detected genuine worry in her sister's voice.
Elizabeth scoffed, turning her attention to the circle of knights that had gathered around Logarius' chair.
"Look how far my sister has fallen. See how she demeans herself, and denies herself the very qualities that make her unique. Are these the makings of a good queen? Is this the woman who is to lead Cainhurst into the future?" she calmly questioned.
The crowd of knights looked to one another uneasily. There was no doubt that most of them were taken with Elizabeth's message. But even so, Maria's claim to the throne was absolute. To suggest otherwise was tantamount to treason. So they remained silent, waiting for someone else to voice what was clearly on all of their minds. When none did, Chessa decided to take the reins, albeit hesitantly.
"Elizabeth… I'm sorry. Maria's claim is stronger. She is the rightful queen regardless of any of our misgivings."
Elizabeth's brow shot up in disbelief.
"What kind of queen denounces her vileblood ancestry?!" she practically shouted, causing even Chessa to flinch. "Sentience is the only thing that sets humans apart from animals, and blood art is the only thing that sets us apart from humans. Without it, one cannot be considered vileblood, let alone a damned queen!"
Chessa looked from the irrate and fuming Elizabeth to the calm yet despirited Maria. For the first time since they'd met, Chessa actually appeared uncertain about something. She deliberated for a moment, weighing the benefits and drawbacks of each potential queen. The weight of Cainhurst's future rested squarely on Chessa's shoulders, and the rest of the knights dared not disrupt her while she thought. The next few moments would decide the future of the vilebloods, and the wrong choice could spell the end of Cainhurst forever. Appearing to buckle under the pressure, Chessa let out a shaky breath.
"Our coronation shall take a recess," she declared. "The matriarchy needs time to decide upon a course of action. We will reconvene in one hour."
A few knights fidgeted, but none dared voice dissatisfaction. All things considered, this was probably the most logical option available to them at the moment. Chessa turned tail, and strode with purpose back into the throne room. The conglomerate of knights and nobles filed in after her, only a few remaining on the roof to observe Logarius. The executioner chief had ceased his tantrum, and was now seated on the chair in a rather uncomfortable looking position. He had his head lowered, and was muttering under his breath.
"My son…my son…"
Were his tear ducts not frozen shut, Maria was sure he'd be crying. She approached, and pulled the longer half of Rakuyo out of Logarius' knee. The executioner drew in a breath through gritted teeth, but otherwise made no move against his former opponent. Maria connected the two halves, and returned the weapon to her sheath. She looked up, only to realize that Elizabeth had been staring at her the entire time, an unreadable expression etched across her face.
"Thank you for saving me," she finally spoke. "Really."
Maria couldn't think of an appropriate response, so she let her sister's words hang in the air for a moment.
"I used to look up to you, Maria. You know that, don't you?" Elizabeth murmured. "And then you just… left. No contact for years, barely a goodbye. You got to study under the greatest minds in the country, and look what it did to you. You used to be so vibrant, so full of life! Now, you seem… muted. Repressed. And worst of all, they didn't even do it to you. They got you to do it to yourself. You were such a passionate, extraordinary woman! And now you're just Gehrman's little doll."
Maria started at that. Her lips flew open, but no retort could effectively encapsulate her thoughts. At the risk of coming across needlessly harsh, Maria opted for silence yet again.
"Whatever. It's done now. Just don't get in my way," Elizabeth monotoned, striding back towards the throne room. "I'd prefer you not die," she added.
I don't die anymore, Maria wanted to reply. But she didn't. For once in her life, the right words had evaded Maria, and all she could do was stand there like a fool. Because deep down in the core of her being, Maria knew that on some level Elizabeth was right.