Eight Intertwined

192 - Finale

Primrose only let her defenses drop once she was certain Simeon stood no chance of striking at her again. The dark magic around them was starting to fade, but Primrose could feel it trying to pull at the corners of her mind. His spells were far less effective now than they had been a few minutes prior, but they still sought to pull Primrose under their weight. She didn't give them the chance, instead stalking toward Simeon and kicking his dagger out of the way so he couldn't reach for it and try to stab her again. After being stabbed once, Primrose wasn't keen to repeat the experience. 

But Simeon didn't seem to care at all about the idea of sliding a knife into Primrose's body again. Instead, he was too caught up with some wild excitement that left Primrose thoroughly uncomfortable. She felt as if she was watching something private, something no other person should have been there for. "Bravo...!" Simeon repeated feverishly. "I have seen the full depths of your heart... It was more beautiful... Than I could have ever imagined... And now for our climax..." Simeon seemed to straighten up, a silent invitation that made Primrose's stomach flip a million times in the span of a single breath. "Come, Primrose... And plunge your precious dagger into my breast...!"

Primrose knew she should have taken the chance for what it was. Simeon wasn't going to make this easy for her if she kept him waiting... But it felt wrong to move in for the kill when he was asking her to do it. Primrose had started out on this journey because she wanted revenge. She had been desperate to make sure that everyone she detested felt the pain she had endured when her father first passed... But now, Primrose couldn't do it. Simeon wanted her to kill him. He sought the apex of despair found at the tip of her dagger. Primrose would never be able to forgive Simeon for what he had done, but there was a part of her heart that feared she would never be able to forgive herself for killing him either. Simeon was a monster, and she knew it. Even so, she hesitated, and Simeon was more than happy to turn that against her. 

Primrose's uncertainty must have been written all over her face since Simeon took it as his cue to speak again. "Every show must come to an end, Primrose," he reminded her. "It is time... To lower the curtain..." Primrose blinked, and the darkness around her closed in...

~~~~~

To drop her off on the stage below. 

Simeon's voice echoed in harmony with his counterpart on the stage. Primrose couldn't see the actor portraying 'Ombre,' but she could still hear his voice. "'And when the moon waxes full and bright in dark heaven and stars glitter worlds away from earthly sorrow... Would that sleep hold you in her soft embrace... Then shall my eyes close, lips open in prayer, for it is only in dreams that we may meet again,'" Simeon quoted. 

Primrose took a step toward Simeon, raising her dagger. His purple-tinted white hair seemed to gleam in the strange lighting of the stage, and Primrose knew this was a sight she would never forget. She could not say for certain if she would come to regret it or not, but it mattered little now. She knew what needed to be done, and she could not stop the gears of fate from turning. "Goodbye, Simeon." Primrose raised her dagger--

~~~~~

And all at once, it stabbed clean through Simeon's chest. 

Down on the stage, Shannon approached Ombre with a smile on her face. Ombre had not spoken the words Primrose could have sworn she heard from him. Instead, he had asked something else: for Shannon's hand in marriage. "Yes, Ombre... My answer is yes," Shannon said softly. "I am so happy, my love... My heart is free of all doubts. Let us never be apart again. Never again..."

Primrose pulled her knife free of Simeon's fallen body. There was a dark smile on his face even in death, and his eyes had fallen closed in some peace that almost mocked sleep. Primrose continued to stare down at him for a long moment, feeling blood seep through her fingers and onto the ruined crimson of his indigo jacket. Primrose couldn't even bring herself to stand, instead simply staring down at his corpse. She had done it. At long last, Geoffrey was avenged, and the last of the crows was dead. She had fulfilled her mission... But it had done nothing to do the empty hole in her chest. Just as Simeon had said, killing would not bring her the peace she needed.