As the Leaf Falls

Do Us Part

As Queen Lotus-Eloise stood at the edge of the Mirror Forest, a place shrouded in legend and mystery, she felt a chill creep up her spine. The forest whispered tales of ancient enchantments, where one's deepest fears and darkest desires could manifest, twisting and warping reality until it drove one to madness. The queen hesitated at the forest's threshold, her gaze fixed upon the gnarled trees that loomed before her like sentinels of fate. The air crackled with magic, and she could feel the weight of centuries-old spells woven into the very fabric of the forest. The ground beneath her seemed to shift and groan, as if alive with a will of its own, while the branches above swayed menacingly, their twisted forms reaching out like skeletal fingers.

As Queen Lotus-Eloise ventured deeper into the enchanted Mirror Forest, her heart pounded with a mixture of fear and longing. Amidst the twisting shadows and whispering trees, she caught glimpses of Alaric.
"My love." she said Alaric turned his head and motioned with his hand to follow him. But with each step she took, Alaric seemed to slip further away, his presence a tantalizing mirage that danced just beyond her reach. Lotus pressed on, her determination unwavering, until at last they stood face to face at the forest's center. Tears welled in the queen's eyes as she beheld Alaric, his form radiant and surreal amidst the forest's enchantment. "I have missed you," she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. "I have waited so long for this moment, to be with you once more."
Alaric's gaze held hers, his eyes filled with a sorrow as deep as her own.
"And I have watched over you, my love, every moment since we parted," he replied, his voice a haunting melody in the stillness of the forest. "Are you ready?" He extended his arm towards her, a silent invitation to join him in the realm beyond.

Ambrose had harbored genuine affection for the queen from the moment they exchanged vows. However, as the years passed, he couldn't shake the feeling of distance that grew between them. While he longed for closeness and connection, the queen seemed perpetually lost in her own world, her disassociation a barrier that prevented true intimacy. At times, Ambrose even questioned the queen's fitness to rule, her emotional withdrawal casting doubt upon her ability to lead with clarity and resolve. Yet, beneath his frustration and disappointment, a lingering thread of love and loyalty remained, urging him to seek understanding rather than condemnation.
Despite his doubts and fears, Ambrose wanted to confront the queen, not as a king seeking to assert his authority, but as a husband longing to bridge the chasm that separated them. Ambrose entered her chambers and finding no one then just as King Ambrose was retreating out the chamber he stumbled upon the letter left by the queen, he read it intently. Eyes widening and breathing shallow as he read sentence by sentence. A surge of anxiety and dread washed over him as he absorbed the weight of her intentions. With a racing heart and trembling hands, he hastily made his way into the depths of the Mirror Forest, each step fueled by a desperate urgency to reach her in time. The forest seemed to close in around him, its twisted branches reaching out like gnarled fingers. As he reached the heart of the forest, his breath caught in his throat at the sight before him: the queen, bathed in a luminous aura that seemed to emanate from the very depths of the forest itself. Her form appeared both ethereal and hauntingly real, surrounded by a soft glow that cast eerie shadows upon the trees. For a fleeting moment, Ambrose stood frozen, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. He called out her name, but to his avail, she didn't hear his voice echoing through the silent expanse of the forest. With a trembling hand, he reached out to her, his fingers mere inches away from his grasp. But, before he could bridge the gap between them, she vanished into thin air, leaving him alone amidst the oppressive darkness of the forest. Ambrose sank to his knees, his heart heavy with the weight of loss and despair.
He realized that he had arrived too late, and that the queen had slipped through his fingers like sand, leaving him stranded in a world devoid of light and hope.

The King returned home with a profound sense of emptiness settled over King Ambrose. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, months into years, and still, he remained in the palace, haunted by memories of a love that had slipped through his fingers. Alone in his chambers, he watched as the seasons changed, as the world outside the palace walls continued to spin and evolve. Time became his only companion, a relentless reminder of the passage of life and the inevitability of loss. In the twilight years of his reign, King Ambrose found peace in the knowledge that he had fulfilled his duty to the kingdom, and that his legacy would endure long after he was gone. And as he watched the sun set on the horizon, casting a golden glow upon the world below, he whispered a silent prayer for the queen and her beloved, wherever they may be, knowing that their love would live on in his heart until the end of time.
"And though my time in this world may be at its end, know that my love for this kingdom and its people will endure for eternity." The King said with his last dying breath. He closed his eyes to dream of Lotus-Eloise once more and never opened them again.