Echoes of Wonderland

Someone you loved

Chloe's POV

I'm crying on the ground, and it feels like everything inside me shatters. I can't hold it in anymore, the rage and the sorrow just explode out of me.

- Fuck! - The word rips from my throat, raw and ugly, but I don't care. I'm past caring. All I know is this pain that's tearing me apart from the inside out.

My sobs are loud, echoing off the walls of this forsaken alley, but they can't drown out the agony inside me. I don't even try to stop them. What's the point? Red's gone, and it feels like she's taken everything with her.

Then the ground starts trembling, and at first, I think it's just me—my legs, my body shaking uncontrollably. But it's not just me. The earth is moving, rumbling beneath me like it's about to split open. And then I see it—my bracelet. It's glowing so brightly it hurts to look at it, the light searing into my eyes even though they're filled with tears.

The pain in my wrist flares, sharp and unbearable, and I scream again, this time in pure agony. It feels like the bracelet is trying to tear itself off, and the light... it's blinding, burning into my skin like it's branding me.

Everything's falling apart. The wind picks up, howling through the alley like it's furious, like it's feeding off my pain. Auradon Prep... the building shakes so hard I think it's going to come down right on top of me. But I can't move, I can't think. All I can do is scream and cry as everything around me crumbles.

And then, with a sound that cuts through everything, the bracelet snaps. It breaks apart, shattering into a million pieces that scatter like dust. For a split second, everything goes quiet, like the world is holding its breath.

And then, a tidal wave of magic explodes out of it. It's like nothing I've ever felt before—pure, raw energy surging out and sweeping across Auradon. I can feel it in every part of me, like it's tearing through my soul, and I'm powerless against it. It's too much, too overwhelming, and all I can do is collapse under the weight of it.

When the wave passes, I'm left on the ground, gasping for air. My wrist throbs where the bracelet was, the skin raw and burning. I stare at it, at the empty space where the bracelet had been chained to me for so long. It's gone, just like that, and I'm left with this hollow, aching feeling where it used to be.

I look around, trying to make sense of what's happened. The world... it's changing. The twisted, corrupted version of Auradon that Maddox created is disappearing, fading away as if it was never there. The trees, the walls, the grass—it's all coming back to life, regaining its color, its warmth. But I can't bring myself to care about any of it.

Because Red's gone. She's really gone.

I don't know what's happening, why the bracelet broke, or why the magic surged like that. I don't know if this is some final trick of Maddox's or if it's something else entirely. All I know is that I'm scared—terrified, really. I feel so small, so powerless, and for the first time in so long... I'm alone. Completely and utterly alone.

The silence that follows is crushing. I force myself to stand, my legs trembling so badly I almost fall back down. Everything around me is so still, so quiet, like the storm that just tore through here never happened. But I know it did. I can still feel the echoes of it in my bones, in my heart.

I wrap my arms around myself, trying to stop the shaking, but it's no use. The truth is sinking in now, cold and hard. Red is gone. She left without looking back, left me here in this mess, with nothing but the broken pieces of what we used to be.

I can't stop the tears. I don't want to. I just let them fall, hot and uncontrollable, as I sink back down to the ground. I bury my face in my hands, trying to shut it all out, trying to block out the unbearable pain that's ripping me apart.

But I can't. No matter how tightly I close my eyes, I can't escape the truth. I've lost her. I've lost everything. And now... now I have no idea how to keep going. Auradon might be coming back to life, but I... I feel like I've been destroyed.

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Yeah well, the spell is broken... and so is Glassheart.