𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 ✔

Chapter Sixteen

Only the families of the four girls were allowed at the ceremony, though, the townsfolk littered the alleys and piled in the houses that surrounded the market so they would not miss an ounce of the drama.

The final Offering to end all Offerings. What did it mean? Literally, I suppose, it meant the final Offering. However, what had that meant for us four, the final sacrifices, and what had that meant for the town?

The townsfolk rejoiced, bathed in the light that was our noble sacrifice, thinking we were the ones who were going to deliver them to salvation. That their remaining little girls shall never again be ripped from their bosoms. But what if we, the sacrifices, were the last thing between him and the town? What if we kept it from being completely ravaged?

Would they curse our names if that was so? Would they blame us for not being good enough to stifle the beast for the rest of what could have possibly been an eternity? Or would they have forgiven us, felt sorry for us because we were only cannon fodder in their hopeless defense against the inevitable? Were they so ignorant to believe it was truly the end?

The first thing to stand out was two carriages had been sent. One allotted to carry our baggage. Which, in the letter, stated we would need clothes and could bring other things that would comfort us. The other to carry us.

Justine looked as if she had been crying since the news reached us all on Tuesday, and she still cried as if her tears were going to save her. Lottie on the other hand was as stark as usual, indifferent to the fact she, like the rest of us, could have very well been on her way to her own funeral. Alveary clung to me as she tried to hide the fact that she was shaking, while I was ready to climb into the carriage and ride up the mountain to meet my unforeseeable future, if there was one to be had.

Madame looked at both of us with sorrow in her eyes but a face like stone. She had to keep her public appearance of being an unfeeling and ruthless woman since it was all she had left against the others. If she showed any weakness, any hint of her being at the point of breaking, they would ruin her before we could make it to the castle. Before we left the house, she handed me a letter and told me not to open it until we reached the castle. That if I could, to wait and read it in private.

Countess Tessier, Justine's mother, looked unmoved by her daughter being taken away since she had no need for her, after all her brother was to acquire the Dupré's entire estate and inheritance in months to come, rendering her useless.

The Macleays were furious but refused to make a scene in public, not with all the eyes that watched from the shadows. They, like Madame, had to accept they were losing their child for the greater good, or at least that's what everyone wanted to believe. This time, however, I got to get a look at their son. He was a tall redheaded man, like his father, with blue eyes and a freckled face. There was a softness about him that none of the other three had. His small smile that he gave me when we met eyes reminded me of Julien, the Pelletier boy, there was an undeniable kindness in both their eyes. Something very few people had in Du Ciel.

I did not understand why Lord Chambren insisted on pleasantries, for all that was needed was to place all four of us in the carriage and be sent on our way to pay the final debt owed. If one thought about it, we could have been considered taxes. One only paid every few months, but then taxes never end do they. They only fluctuate, mainly rising rather than falling.

After he finished his speech, rambled on a bit about how sorry he was, and shook all the parent's hands, it was finally time for us to leave. "If everyone has said their goodbyes and have had all their belongings placed in the left carriage, then please take your seat in the other."

"Is this what those women prosecuted for Witchcraft at the Palace felt like when they walked to their Pyres?" Alveary whispered over my shoulder after we got into the carriage. We sat on the left so we could see what was coming our way through the windows, unlike the other two who could have only seen what had already come to pass.