We are not meant to be aware of our imminent mortality, Sophie realised as she gazed at Lady Lesso's memorial, one that she thought could be compared to a grave.

She ran her fingers over her name, forever etched into the stone. The statue of Lady Lesso stood atop the carved marble base, and she thinks in the back of her mind that it rather resembles the statue of her that used to stand in the middle of Gavaldon.

She, too, remembered how she never wanted to die. Well, it was much too late for that. Of course, she had never thought that she couldn't die, but it had never really registered. Death seemed like a far away thing, off in the future where she didn’t have to worry about it. Until that day, when she had been killed by Rafal.

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She and Lady Lesso are not so different, Sophie thought. Both murdered by someone they thought they could love, a martyr for a war that they were nothing but a pawn in.

Being the Witch of Woods Beyond was supposed to be an honor, but now with Lady Lesso’s statue standing right in front of her? She can’t help but think that it was a death sentence for the people she loved.

In the future, will there be another statue to match Lady Lesso’s?

Unbidden, a tear slipped down her face.

A third year Ever who’s name she didn’t remember walked by and sneered at her. “What the fuck are you doing here, witch?”

“Just…” Sophie paused, unsure of what she was actually doing. “Just paying my respects.”

“You’re the reason why she’s dead in the first place!”

She closed her eyes sadly. “Yeah. I know.”