To Waltz in Broad Daylight

Dainty Death

Lauren had always imagined that the ending of all things would look something like the Allendale Tragedy. Now, she wished that it was that. Anything would've been better than what it truly was. Anything would've been better than the hole in her already fragile heart. The emptiness of her soul. The defeat of her body.

Blood trickled out of her abdomen like the dripping of a broken faucet. It was slow and unsteady, not like the quick death that Kym had been blessed with. It wasn't even like the torture that Kieran had to endure before he finally gave up. It was so much worse.

Lauren wished she knew what had happened to Will. He had disappeared once the final battle started, and he hadn't appeared since they had lost. Tears dribbled from her eyes like little tributaries, forming a lake around her body. They mixed with the blood, combining forces much like she had with Kieran.

Never did it occur to her that they would lose. She had always thought that the Phantom Scythe would be taken down, but their leader had always been three steps ahead. She and Kieran didn't come a bit close, and she hated that she still didn't know who it was.

She hated that she had failed.

And this time, she didn't only fail Dylan. She didn't just fail her parents. She failed everyone. Everyone that lived in Ardhalis, everyone that she had ever known. She had failed the APD, she had failed Uncle Tristan, she had failed Kym, she had failed Will.

She had even failed Kieran.

Lauren wiped her eyes, only managing to stain her paling face with red. Her body had become numb. It was a state of nothingness, and she doubted that she would've even noticed someone lopping off a limb.

She wished she could feel the pain. She deserved it for being an ignorant hypocrite, for becoming the monster that she thought Kieran was. Lauren let her head rest against the wall she was propped against. When had she gone so wrong?

Listening to the crickets that began to chirp, Lauren let her eyes roam the sky. From behind the clouds, the colors of red, orange, pink, and purple prepared to streak the blue sky like a rainbow. Even when they had lost, the world continued to go on as if nothing had happened. It didn't stop to wait and let everyone collect themselves. It would just keep going forever.

But something had happened. Anyone with eyes would have been able to see it. And perhaps, the world just didn't have eyes. It was just an innocent, naive child that played games no matter the situation. The child that yearned for cakes and new toys. The child whose light would never dim. The world reminded Lauren of herself back when Dylan was still alive. One day, it would stop its play and let everyone down. One day, the world was going to end itself and everyone living on it.

Just like she had.

Turning away from the sky, Lauren coughed. Her arms hung limply from her torso, and she had to wonder whether they were still attached. Her breaths came in short, rapid huffs now. Her hands were so white they could have been the snow that covered roofs and trees in the winter. Before that moment, Lauren didn't think her already pale skin could go lighter. She wasn't surprised though. Everything she had ever thought and known was wrong.

Lauren looked out at the streets, her last action before death came to claim her. It was empty, and silence seemed to stretch on forever. Not even the whispers of spies and assassins graced the air. It was all bleak and barren, broken down with the brandishing of a scythe. Lauren's gaze found its way to the small cafe where she had gone out on a date so long ago.

She tried to smile at the memories, but no laughter bubbled from her chest. Were her eyes still pensive now at the brink of death?

For once, Lauren hoped they were. It was proof that a trace of the girl she once embodied was still alive.

Now on her final breath, Lauren let her eyes flicker up to the sky one last time before exhaling. She would die with the setting sun mirroring her eyes one final time, and her passing would welcome the dark, melancholy night.