Devilish | Moriarty The Patriot

Chapter 19 | Goodbye

"Louise?" William shook her shoulders and whispered. 

She did not respond. Her long lashes clasped together in harmony as she lay very still with her eyes closed.

"Brother it's done," Louis said grimly as he finished firmly wrapping her wound. 

"Louise!! Louis, why isn't she waking up." William gripped her wrist. 

"Brother she should just be unconcious from the shock." 

"No, no it's not like that..." William continued to rub her arms, he checked her breathing. He placed his ears on her chest, and checked her pulse again and again. 

"Louise... it can't end like this." 

Louis immediately began to compress her chest in a rhythmic manner. 

William grasped her hand and continued to monitor her pulse.

But to no avail, she did not open her eyes nor did her pulse return to normal. 

After ten minutes of trying to get her heart to start again, Louis began to speak to his brother. 

"Brother you need to let her go..." Louis said in a grim tone. 

William gritted his teeth together. His fingers dug into his palm and it drew blood. 

"William," Moran put his arm around his shoulders, "we were too late."

"If only I'd noticed sooner," William's eyes were now a hollow black in the darkness of the shadows that cast over his face. 

"If only I had made a better decision back then, then Louise would've..." William slammed a chair on the floor. 

"Ha... haha," a small noise could be heard at the opposite corner of the room. 

William raised his gaze to find that Bond had just finished sticking the wound that William had given Isabella back in the alleyway. Isabella looked at Louise's body and smiled eerily, "she's gone... she's really." 

Bond stumbled back as he saw the look on William's face. The devil himself had emerged. There was no kindness and pity on his silhouette as he raised a pistol at her head. 

BANG. 

Blood splattered from behind Isabella's head. Herder shivered as he heard the squelch of blood. 

William placed his hand on his eyes and looked up. He breathed very, very slowly. Trying to process everything that happened in the last hour. 

He was supposed to wait for her to reach the hideout where he could've talked to her in a peaceful manner, it did not have to be in a situation of heightened emotions and quarrel with an enemy. William, stumbled back to the table to see if Louise had started breathing again. 

But to no avail, she lay there as if she were sleeping. Silent and peaceful, unmoving. 

After that, everything was a blur. 

William changed her into a beautiful white dress and cleaned all of the wounds. He did it so delicately as if to feel the sensation of her skin for the last time. He arranged a small boat with white roses and slowly lowered her body into the vessel that would take her to where her sister was. 

The rest of the members could only watch in silence and assist William when needed. Once everything was over, they stepped away and let William have his last moments with her. 

As Louise was gracefully swayed by the waves of the river, William stared at her face. She had a calm expression, not smiling but not frowning. She looked at peace with herself and with the world. 

"I remember the first time I met you, darling... You looked... you looked so gorgeous in the front of the classroom at Durham. Radiating your intelligence, I thought there was a bright light in this world."

William paused for a moment and then smiled, "Who thought you'd be such an enigma?"

He realized that she had died without knowing anything about him. About his past, or his real name. When he had uncovered almost everything about her, he had well... stayed silent about himself. She was open and honest, and truely loving without realizing it. But he had somehow kept his distance, still wanting her, but not letting her completely have him. 

His chest stung horribly. William clutched his chest as he shook her hand, wishing that she would somehow respond and pull him onto herself once again. 

Held her hand for one last moment. "If there is anything that I can do, it would be to change everything, just as you imagined it... I promise you that things will change, and once they change I will go to you at the end of all my plans. And then hopefully, we can be united in a place that no other soul will go because we made all of the sacrifices together. Isn't that right Louise?" 

A strong wind blew which lifted all of the strands of hair, exposing his forehead. It made him look up. 

William smiled. Before he could send her off, he needed to do one last thing. He looked at the matchbox in his hand. It felt like a stone, that weighed his hand down. His hand refused to move. Taking a deep breath he slowly took out one match and lit it. 

Fssss. 

The flame made a hissing noise. William lowered the flame and pressed it onto Louise's dress. 

The hem of her dress caught fire, and then the flame nipped at the skin of her feet. William sprang up in a panic, he stumbled forward and pressed the flame away with his bare hands. The cruel flame charred bits of skin on his palms. 

"Oh god, I can't do this." 

Moments before her death flashed in his mind. How she had jolted in pain when the burning piece of metal landed on her leg. William shuddered. 

"I can't Louise... I can't..." William whimpered. He felt a tear drop onto the ground. It was the first time he felt it. It was mostly anger and regret before, but now sadness pooled in the corners of his eyes and it made him weak. 

He lifted his hands and breathed, seeing that her skin had not been burnt. He just stared at her face. Just a little more. I want to be with you just a little more. 

Then the strong wind blew again. It swayed the boat and set it off to sail as if Louise had said let me go now. 

William just watched her float away for another hour into the distance. Far far away. 

꧁༺ ༻꧂

*Proceeds to the main story of Moriarty the Patriot with Sherlock and William*