Timeless Decisions

What now

As Red and Blanc left Zevon's quarters, his maniacal laughter echoed through the halls of the castle, each cackle twisting in their minds like a cruel mockery. The sound grew fainter as they walked away, but it lingered in their thoughts, a chilling reminder of the dire situation they were now trapped in.

"Don't leave me here!" Zevon's voice called after them, desperation seeping into his tone as he realized they were truly leaving him behind. "You need me! You'll never survive without me! You can't just leave me here!"

Red clenched her fists, her pace quickening as she tried to drown out the noise. "Let him rot," she muttered under her breath, though the sting of his words bit deep. The truth potion had stripped away his lies, but it had also laid bare the hopelessness of their situation.

Blanc's thoughts drifted to her three children, each one precious and vulnerable, now frozen in a state of cursed sleep. Her heart ached as she imagined them, trapped in a world of ice, unable to move, unable to call out for her. She thought of her husbands, Harry, Morgian and Elina, who had been her strength and her joy, now lost to her as well. The grief was overwhelming, a tidal wave threatening to drown her in despair. She had always been the protector, the one who stood strong for her family, but now she felt powerless, her wand shattered, her hope dimming with each passing moment.

Beside her, Red's mind was consumed with thoughts of Chloe, the girl she had loved for so long. Chloe, who had once been kind and brave, had been twisted by Zevon's influence into something unrecognizable. Red had seen the darkness take hold of her girlfriend, but she had been unable to stop it, unable to save her from the monster she had become. But even now, after everything, Red couldn't abandon her. She had to help Chloe, to bring her back from the edge of destruction. The guilt of leaving Blanc behind in the past had haunted Red for years, and she couldn't bear to lose Chloe too. Not now, not when there was still a chance to make things right.

As they walked through the castle, the once bustling halls now eerily quiet, the absence of life was oppressive, a stark contrast to the vibrant energy that had always filled Auradon. Now, it felt like a tomb.

"What do we do now?" Blanc finally asked, her voice barely above a whisper as they exited the castle and stepped into the cold night air. The sky was clear, the stars twinkling above them in a cruel display of normalcy. Everything looked the same, but they knew the truth—Auradon was dying, frozen in a curse that seemed unbreakable.

Red's jaw tightened as she forced herself to think clearly. "We have to find a way to live, Blanc," she said, her voice steadier than she felt. "We're the only ones left who aren't affected by the curse. We owe it to everyone else to survive, to find some way to keep going."

Blanc nodded, but the doubt in her eyes was clear. "But how? How do we live in a world where everyone else is... gone?" Her voice broke on the last word, the enormity of what had happened finally crashing down on her.

Red swallowed hard, her throat tight. "We do it together," she said firmly. "We don't give up, Blanc. We find a way to keep going, for them. For everyone who can't."

As they walked, their footsteps echoing through the empty campus, they talked about what the future might hold for them. The conversations were grim—how they would survive without the support of others, how they would cope with the isolation and the constant reminder of what they had lost. But beneath the despair, there was a flicker of determination, a shared resolve to keep fighting, no matter how bleak things seemed.

"We can try to find some old texts or spells," Blanc suggested, her voice tinged with desperation. "There has to be something in one of the old libraries, something we've missed. Maybe there's another way we haven't thought of yet."