"𝐌𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐦," softly uttered the doctor.
The diagnosis is clear; Alessia had lost the ability to utter a single word for nearly a month. Her parents, initially unconcerned, grew tense upon hearing the news, overcome by a blend of emotions that the...
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•━━ ❦ ━━☠━━ ❦ ━━•
With her forearms resting on the railing, Viola gazed at the new relief of the kingdom in the twilight from the balcony of her chamber.
Behind her, leaning against the palace façade, Alessia stood silently on the ledge.
Her gaze alternated between her brightly coloured shawl and her own legs, which were scraped from the rubble, one of which hung limply over the edge of the railing.
Now that they no longer had a common enemy, things might have settled down in the minds of the two women, but Viola's guilt, combined with Alessia's apprehension, still kept them on their toes. Even after overthrowing the tyrant of the island, neither of them was comfortable enough to consider closing their eyes or taking part in the fugitives' festivities on the ground floor of the royal palace.
Thus, they both watched the landscape from the second floor, hoping that any moment now, the morning sun would rise and their troubles, whatever they might be, would vanish with the night.
Peace had finally returned to the kingdom of Dressrosa, but Viola and Alessia knew better than anyone what it had taken to get there.
Over the ten years of his reign, thousands of inhabitants had been turned into toys, and while some had been able to get on with their lives, it was impossible to expect that things would remain the same, that their loved ones would still be alive and that their families would not have made a new life for themselves without them.
Finally, among the former toys, there were some that their loved ones would never see again.
When Sugar had been neutralised by one of the Straw Hat members, the toy dump had become a mass grave, and identifying all the bodies piled up was unimaginable.
Viola's soles crunched as she turned around.
"A lifetime wouldn't be enough to repay the debt I owe you," she said quietly.
