She won as they had both known she would, going into this, and now standing over her there were only three things left to do.
"One for the head!" Sarah yelled with as much strength as she could muster, glaring down at the redhead who had fear in her eyes but still refused to move. She registered the sound of yelling off to the side but ignored it. She locked eyes with the girl she had once been so close to. She remembered her smile when she told her their connection would endure forever.
She whipped her scourge down with such vengeance upon the girl that the crack it made when it connected with her made the floor tremble. She felt a tear on her face.
Tally screamed in existential pain but nothing could be done for her now. The regret she felt was instant, but she knew even Raelle wouldn't have been able to fix her due to the power of the duel's ancient magic, all she could do was make the next two blows as merciful as possible.
"Tally!" Raelle and Abigail yelled and thrashed against Gregorio and M who held them both back from running to her.
The redhead coughed against the blood that was spilling from her. She gurgled and Sarah wanted to gag but the magic that bound her to finish the duel could not be denied.
"One for the heart!" Sarah whimpered, standing over her. "I'm so sorry Tally,"
"I know, so am I," Tally muttered quietly.
Sarah slammed the end of her scourge against her again. Blood flew up and speckled her face. She tasted it and couldn't hold back the tears any longer. She glared at Nicte who actually had a look of horror on her face, clearly not believing Sarah was capable of killing the girl.
Tally couldn't scream this time, the sounds she made were worse, low groans of her last breaths. Sarah knelt down next to her and brushed her bloodied braids out of her face so she could look into her eyes one last time while they still held her life. "Forgive me,"
Tally could barely move but she gave the slightest of nods.
Sarah stood, her vision blurred by sorrow and fury. "One for the soul," This last one was given with such force that it slashed a gaping hole in Tally's chest exposing her heart to the open air.
Sarah couldn't help but let out a gasping sob. She threw down her scourge and ripped off her medals, she didn't deserve them. No one has stopped her. No one has even tried. Not even Anacostia. She didn't dare look across the faces of her officers, she didn't need to. She knew she would only see horror and disgust. Instead she turned back to the most important person in the room who now lay motionless on the floor.
Wrapping her arms around the limp corpse of her fallen soldier, she lifted her and held her close, as gruesome as it was.
As if entranced, she walked stiffly out of the hanger, the dead girl in her arms, with only one goal in mind. Burying her.
She needed to bury her, herself, somewhere on the grounds of Fort Salem.
As much as she hated what she had done, she couldn't back down from the duel, and she couldn't just let the truth be out in the world. She had warned Tally to stay out of this but she didn't and now here they were. She would face the consequences of her actions soon but for now she laid Tally gently in the grass where she had long ago laid her fallen sisters.
Getting to her knees, she let out a hum that graduated into a song reminiscing on her grief of years past and of now. Tally's corpse was taken into the earth by tendrils of light.
Sarah stopped singing and let her head fall into her hands, her sobs shaking her to the core. How had she come to this?
"Sarah? General..Sarah!"
"Tally?" She looked up to see the beautiful injury free redhead looking down on her, almost ethereal.
"Am I dead?"
"Not yet! Sarah please wake up!" she felt a hand on her shoulder shaking her and she finally blinked against the bright lights.
"Thank the goddess you knew where she'd be so we could get to her in time," It was Anacostia and next to her were Tally and Raelle.
She tried to sit up but Tally stopped her forcefully but still tenderly. "No. Don't move! Raelle still has to finish fixing you,"
Her voice and her touch was what really made her real.
"Craven, you're alive!" She ignored the fact that Raelle was still healing her and she pulled Tally toward her. "How is it possible?"
The three of them glanced at each other and shrugged. "You left the execution right after the rite of proxy proclamations, ma'am, what did you think happened?"
Sarah pushed herself back from her. "I thought I- Tally, I thought you let me kill you,"
"I would have, if you wanted, I expected as much," Tally said seriously.
"I didn't want to! You were going to make me!" Sarah growled and winced at the pain Raelle hadn't completely healed.
"Well thankfully you didn't so I could be here to save you one more time," Tally smiled and Sarah just pulled her close once again.