the scent of dusk is strangely nostalgic

[vogelbauer]

It was almost humorous how much could change as the years progressed. No longer was Elisabeth confined to her chambers as she had been during her younger years, having been granted (admittedly reluctant) permission by her older brother, who had become King during that elapsed time, to stroll through the castle and the surrounding area. While it was a refreshing change, and she was undoubtedly grateful for it, she still couldn't help but feel like the caged bird she had always thought of herself to be. So long as she bore this burdened name of 'von Wettin,' she would forever be held captive inside this birdcage.

However, there was no reason for her to dwell on that when she had the chance to enjoy the world around her. Having escaped from the guards assigned to her once again, she visits a special place that she knows the guards will never find her - a well, the very one that claimed her beloved's life. Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder if it was silly that she visited his grave every day, but if she closed her eyes and imagined, it almost felt as though März was actually there by her side.

She offers a bittersweet smile as she approaches the well, kneeling down beside it. "Hello again, Mär," she says, closing her eyes and resting her head against the cold stone. She falls silent, almost as if she expects to hear his voice speak back, but she knows it's nothing more than wishful thinking. She opens her eyes again, brushing gloved fingers against the dirt below her. "Even after all this time, the roses I planted still haven't bloomed, have they...?" She chuckles emptily, fighting back tears that threatened to spill. Crying would do her no good; she's already shed innumerable tears over losing März, and shedding more still wouldn't bring him back no matter how hard she wished it would.

However, while she knew that was true, she could no longer resist the urge, allowing a few droplets to trail down her cheeks before dabbing at her eyes. "Goodness, look at me..." She chides herself and shakes her head, giving another hollow laugh. "You wouldn't want me to cry, März. Yes, if you were here now, I'm sure you would wipe away my tears and tell me to smile, just like when we were children..." She continues on reminiscing, speaking to the well as if it were März himself, but she knows she's doing it to distract herself from her looming sadness.

Comments

[vogelbauer]

Her eyes widen slightly when he elaborates on his profession; it was a rather odd and seemingly vague description, and she's never heard of a job such as his before. "That is rather...interesting. I suppose you are like an investigator, then?"

She can't help but feel grateful that he didn't inquire further. "It is. It is truly such a shame how many lives can be lost to something as simple as a well." As she says that, her thoughts flicker back to her lost friend. Perhaps if he hadn't gone to tell her that he was leaving, he would still be alive. She couldn't even begin to imagine what his final moments were like when he was thrown into that well. "I understand. I do not necessarily like being around wells myself. It resurfaces bad memories." Still, she felt obligated to do this for März.

Remembered...? Now, this was getting more and more peculiar. That was the very question März had asked her when he had first taken her into the forest - now how would he had known that? She swallows, shaking her head. "It...It, erm, is nothing you need to apologize for, Herr von Friedhof. I do appreciate your concern, but I am fine. This is not the first time that I have come here."

[agravestory]

"Something very similar, yes."

His eyes narrow slightly in thought. Again, memories break the surface. Stronger, this time, and in such a rapid succession that it almost sends him to the ground. Märchen staggers back, his own eyes wide.

"No. No it isn't.. I asked if you were afraid and then you said you weren't because the--" his sentence is swallowed by a sudden half laugh. For the first time in a while, he reaches towards his eyes as they begin to sting. The shock finally drives him to his knees.

His hands clasp onto the ground as if it can swallow him, and he visibly shakes. "Because the world was so big. You weren't afraid of it."

[vogelbauer]

Elisabeth grows rigid, also being overtaken by shock as she hears the words that leave his mouth. There was only one person who would have ever known that, and that was-- "M-März...?" She speaks the name without even thinking about it, and for some reason, it sounds more right than referring to him by his alias. "Y-You... You are März, aren't you...?" Her tone is incredulous, as if she's asking him the question to give him a final chance to deny her claims and perhaps laugh in her face or call her foolish for her wishful thinking just like her brother would; yet, she doubts that'll happen.

She takes a shaky step towards him, kneeling down at his side. "You have to be...t-there's no other explanation. No one else...could possibly know that." Try as she might to keep herself composed in the situation, she feels her willpower dissolving. Her breath hitches, and she covers her face with a hand to hide her welling tears. "I...I don't know how, but...after all this time, you've managed to keep your promise, Mär..."

[agravestory]

He nods as she says his name. As she covers her face, he gives a soft smile and hesitantly reaches for her hand. "I am."

He pauses. "I have. Please look at me, Elisabeth. It's been so long."

It feels like ages the more he thinks about it. He remembers almost everything-- their conversation before the incident, even the men who'd asked him for directions to his mother's house, though vaugely. Märchen searches his pockets and finds a handkerchief, which he offers to Elisabeth.

sorry for the lateness! graduated yesterday and got caught up with that

[vogelbauer]

She takes the proffered handkerchief, dabbing at the tears flowing from her eyes so that she can fulfill his request. Once she's sure that she's no longer crying, she raises her head to look at him, offering him a smile full of mixed emotions. She was undoubtedly happy that she was connected with her beloved once more, but...still, this all felt so surreal, and she was almost scared that this was a dream that she would soon wake up from to torment her for continuing to harbor feelings for the one she lost. "It...It has been. Oh, Mär...it's been so difficult going on without you. My brother has been pressuring me to marry, yet...I couldn't betray you. You were and always will be my one and only love."

np np! congrats on graduating!

[agravestory]

As he listens to her, Märchen nods in agreement. "It has been. But I'm here now." He offers one of his hands. "Touch my hand, if you need or want to. I assure you this is real, Elisabeth."

At her last statement, he feels a tightning in his chest. "And.." he sniffles and then nods. "And you mine. Though I honestly don't remember as much as I'd like. But I remembered that much. And I still do."

thanks! c:

[vogelbauer]

Tentatively, she reaches for his hand, half-expecting it to be intangible; however, once her fingers actually touch his skin, confirming that this was indeed real, she slips her hand into his, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. "Yes, you are right...you do not know how incredibly happy this makes me, Mär."

She hasn't the slightest possibility as to how this occurrence is even happening, but she doesn't dare question it - somehow, she had been blessed enough to be reunited with her childhood flame, and that was more than enough for her to be appreciative of. "It is fine - the fact that you remember just that is enough."

[agravestory]

He squeezes her hand back and laughs a little before his eyes mist over. "If you say so. I honestly don't remember much after.. well, after what lead me here. Just bits and pieces." He exhales and slowly begins to stand.

"It was because of that." Märchen looks towards the well and then to the flowers. "Those are.."

[vogelbauer]

She stands when he does, following his gaze towards the well with an unreadable expression. "It...is probably better that you do not remember, then. It is much too horrible to recall." She hadn't witnessed it, but even hearing about it was more than enough to send a chill down her spine. She did not understand how some people in the world could be so cruel as to do that to a young child and his mother with no remorse.

When he refers to the flowers, she gives a solemn nod. "Those are the roses that we had gathered together as children." She gives a faint laugh as a thought suddenly comes to mind. "Do you remember, Mär, when you placed one in my hair...?"

[agravestory]

"Vaugely. The same as almost everything else." he walks towards the well, shoulders tense. When he's close enough, he crouches and picks one of the flowers. He's mindful of the thorns but just barely.

"It's surprising that they've grown so well. You must have shown them a lot of care."

[vogelbauer]

A part of her can't help but feel disappointed at the answer, but she doesn't blame him. She can't, even if she wanted to. It isn't his fault that his memories are so muddled, but she can't help but feel as though if she gradually reminds him of the dear moments they shared together as children, everything will come flooding back to him. Still, she has to be grateful that she has März back at all, regardless of his lapse of memories. She watches him as he approaches the flowers, the trace of a smile on her face. "Ever since your..." She hesitates to even say the word. "...ah, passing, I've visited this place daily. Tending to the flowers was only the least I could do."

[agravestory]

"They're lovely." He turns towards her with a faint smile. "I'm sure they appreciated it." More memories were below the surface but it was like muddied water. Sometimes he had intense moments of clarity about parts of his past, but more about the people he'd 'helped' as the Corpse Conductor, and rarely about Elisabeth.

"The window." he says suddenly. "I remember seeing you through that."

[vogelbauer]

"That's correct," she says, almost approvingly. "I remember the first time we met. There you were, smiling just like the gentle moonlight." Her expression suddenly turns a bit sheepish as she laughs faintly. "...I was a bit surprised, to say the least. It was not often that I received visitors, especially at my windowsill, but I suppose it was your smile that told me I could trust you, so I had no qualms with going with you to explore the forest at night."

[agravestory]

"I think most would be if someone was suddenly at their window." he laughs and then thinks before speaking again. "Elisabeth, may I ask why you were living there? You'd mentioned the world was so huge and I didn't give it much thought back then. I was so happy to have someone to play with, but now I'm curious. Before I met you, had you never left your house?"

His cheeks color slightly. "Not that I've much to compare it to, of course. My mother was usually very adament that I only play in the forest."

[vogelbauer]

She flushes slightly in embarrassment at his question. "Ah...no, I had never left my house prior to meeting you." She sounds almost ashamed to admit it, but there was no benefit in lying about it. It wasn't as though it was her fault that she was confined to her room. "However, it was not my personal decision - it was one made by my family. I do not believe they intended to shield me from the world for the sake of just doing so, but...I suppose they wanted to protect from the dangers of the world, out of fear that they would lose me once again."

She pauses momentarily. "...I suppose I should clarify. I do not know if your mother told you this, but if it weren't for her generosity and her wisdom, I would not be standing here today." She gives a bittersweet smile; while she's undoubtedly grateful that Therese saved her life, she feels as though if she had died back then, she wouldn't be burdened with the expectations of her nobility. But if she died back then, she never would have met März, the light of her life. Despite those thoughts, she continues on.

"I suspect you do not know this, but I was born with a poor constitution. Sometime after my birth, I suddenly stopped breathing and was then buried beneath the ground. However, my mother refused to accept that I was dead, demanded that I was dug back up, and hurriedly sought your mother's aid. I do not know what she did, but...if it weren't for her, I would not be alive. I am truly indebted to her. I simply wish that I could have...could have..." Saved her, she thinks.

Sorry it took so long!

[agravestory]

"Lose you?"

Märchen quiets himself and nods as she explains. "I didn't know, no. I'd never met you before then.." he sighs and idly fidgets with some of the buttons on his coat sleeve.

"You're not to blame, Elisabeth. When those two men asked that I take them to her, I had no idea.."

A few more lost memories surface and Märchen frowns. "If I'd known, then perhaps I could've done something." But he'd been young, and they'd been fast about grabbing him and heading for the well. "Though I doubt it."

no worries! also heads up, i'll be gone all of next week so i won't be able to reply until after!

[vogelbauer]

"I know it is not my fault, but still I wish I had been able to do something." Even though she knows that there was nothing that she could have done either. She had been around the same age as März, and it was impossible for a young fragile girl of her stature to overpower two older men who were undoubtedly stronger than she was. If she had tried to intervene, she perhaps might have faced the same fate as her beloved, tossed into the depths of the well. "...I do not understand how some people can be so cruel. Neither your mother nor yourself, Mär, deserved the fate you were given. Frau von Ludowing was truly talented, being able to heal others the way that she could, but those two men...no, the entire town could not comprehend her gift and instead mistook it for a curse. And for being her son, they decided to punish you as well." She sighs and shakes her head. "It astounds me how cruel others can be."

roger!

[agravestory]

"I wish I could still say it astounds me, honestly. To not have a better idea of how deep cruelity can run in someone." He looks between the flowers and the well and then towards the sky. "It's truly a botomless reserve, it seems."

well by the time you replied i already came back |D

[vogelbauer]

"Does this have something to do with your profession you mentioned earlier...?" What was it that he said again? Something about...locating missing persons and contacting former lovers? Elisabeth couldn't quite understand the correlation between intel and cruelty. "Mär...please, I'd like for you to be honest with me." She turns to face him, a more serious expression assuming her features. "What is it that you truly do...ah, did? Under this alias of Märchen von Friedhof."

welp :V

[agravestory]

"It does." He looks aside for a second before facing Elisabteh properly. "I helped locate missing people and contact former lovers for the purpose of assisting in revenge. I can recall six clients easily, but there have been several more. Too many to count."

[vogelbauer]

"Assisting in revenge...?" Well, that explains the cruelty part. "I...I see. However were you able to do so...?"

sorry this took so long!

[agravestory]

"Magic.. Or at least slight of hand. Manipulation and truth bending. The same thing that humans have been using Just.. more of it, when compared to them."

no worries!

[vogelbauer]

"I had never thought that magic truly existed in this world..." It was something that citizens would mention, often associated with witchcraft and heresy, but Elisabeth never truly believed it, only thinking it to be senseless rumors spout around the community. However, she trusts März; she has no reason to doubt him, so if he says that magic exists and that he's used it, then she can do nothing more than take him at his word, even if she feels a sense of incredulity. "...Pardon, this is just...well, it is a lot to take in, is all."

[agravestory]

"Of course. I should've thought before suddenly mentioning it. Take as much time as you need." Märchen fell quiet for a few moments. "Did you ever study medicine?" he asked suddenly. "Even just a little. I'm curious."

[vogelbauer]

"Mm...there were several things I was required to study, medicine being just one of them," she answers, reflecting back on the times she had to be educated in order to ensure she would be a proper bride. "Admittedly, I did not study it as extensively as your mother did, but the subject was, at the very least, brought up a few times during my sessions with my tutor...why do you ask?"