There is only so much that time can heal.

Isaac’s bones smoldered a dangerous desire. The arrow he knew he could never aim troubled him as he tried to hide the sweat dripping from his forehead. As years went by, his duty became more clouded by the beating of his heart. Guilty of entrusting his future to the girl who already had a pocket full of small secrets, yet righteous enough to seemingly share the burden, he allowed himself to dream of a pale finger. The dream was short yet vivid enough to challenge his common sense.

“Come out,” he told the rusty forest once Thomas Hammer had escaped his maddening eye. “If you don’t…”

The silence was too long to convince her he meant it. He was trembling all over, so he could never hit her heart; it was all for show. But who was watching? There was no one but the two of them.

“Put your bow down. You’re scaring me,” she soullessly replied and came out of hiding. She stood next to a tree and watched him lower his bow a little. When it seemed like he would certainly miss, she started to approach him.

With her each step his stomach hurt more; when he was finally able to see her clearly, Isaac felt nauseous and thirsty. “What have you done?!” he whispered. He let his tears consume him when he looked up. She was so close to him when he lowered his head, wearing that same dignified expression as when he first met her years ago.

“Only what I was ordered to do,” she replied. When her lips started to curl upwards, she reminded herself of the time he told her he loved her. “I told you not to delude yourself anymore, Isaac. There is nothing in this world that could stop me from making it work. Nothing.”

“And what for?!” he yelled. “What are you gaining?! What is any of us gaining?!”

“Peace of mind.”

“Monster!”

“Stop yelling, Isaac.” She stood perfectly still, as if she wasn’t terrified of his sudden hatred. It was not her life that was at risk, but the future. The perfect future. The future she had to create. Her future. It didn’t matter if they should all crumble in the end. “Clara Heal was kind enough to weave us a happy future. The least we can do is follow along.”

"The only person she had ever been kind to is you!" he replied through his teeth. "Look around you! Does this seem like a land that has been treted nicely? Do any of these people? Do I? Does Diane?"

She tilted her head slightly. "You are making some serious accusations here, Isaac. For you, because I... love you, I will pretend I never heard them."

Isaac took a few long breaths and closed his eyes. Then he turned to the side so he wouldn’t have to look at her face. “Where is George?”

“Who knows? I let him go,” she replied, looking at her feet. She was tossing dust around and trying to find a way to make him see the world for what it was. “And for the record, he was the one who killed Jeremy. I had nothing to do with it.”

Isaac scoffed. “Except letting him do it. So, it was all bullshit. There was no change of plans,” Isaac could breathe more normally now that the truth was half-out in the open.’

“Of course. Do you think I would’ve let him near Diane Hunster otherwise?” she replied happily.

“Don’t you feel even the slightest bit sorry for her?”

She looked bewildered. “She brought it upon herself.”

“She was always nice to you.”

She burst out laughing. Isaac watched her, wishing he could hate her more now that he knew the truth. “And I am nice to her! Aren’t I organizing everything and letting her be the hero? Besides, she stopped being nice to me when she decided to ruin our plan.”

Isaac took a step back. “You mean Clara’s plan.”

She smiled. “Same thing.” Then, upon looking at Isaac’s face, she chuckled nervously and said, “What? You disapprove?

“It’s not the same thing and we both know it.”

Her eyes widened and she took a step back. “Careful, Isaac.” They looked at each other intensely, in complete silence. Then she smiled again and said, “But you would never betray me. And now Diane has something to lose. We will soon have the Will, and then... I would consider this mission successful.”

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"What would you need the Will for?"

She moved her hand up and down his bicep. "Such a pretty face you have. Don't spoil it by thinking too much about the things that don't concern you."

He moved her hand. "I am as much part of the Six as you. Being the Judge doesn't make you superior to any of us."

She smiled. "Well, I guess Diane would be a worthy opponent."

“It’s her majesty for you, Elaine.” He looked at her. There was absolutely nothing in her eyes. She was dead, soulless. But she did tremble a bit. “I don’t understand. Diane loved George.”

“Are you sure?” Elaine mocked. “And what if she was only following orders. There used to be a time when she was the perfect marionette, always doing what she was told. It’s different this time, though. How beautiful, don’t you think, Isaac?”

“Elaine!” Isaac yelled, this time grabbing her shoulders and shaking her slightly. Still, she showed no visible sign of terror. “Can’t you, for a second, just think?! You are toying with people's live like they mean nothing! How do you even know this is all for good?”

Elaine grabbed his hand; he could feel her cold fingers seal his skin inwards. “I don’t like the things you've been saying today, Isaac. You’ve been spending too much time with Diane. I think it’s best if you went away for a bit, to clear your head.”

“No, I just…” Isaac ran his hand through his hair. “She’s my friend.”

“She’s your teammate.” Then she put her hand on his chest, looked at him and whispered, “Unless, you would rather have her.”

“Never.”

“Then there is no reason to act out. You know I always have our best interest in mind,” She put her hand back on his bicep. "And once this is over... who knows? We might even get married."

If the years hadn’t passed as quickly as they had, he probably would have learned that she was also a prisoner of false promises. “Aren’t you sick of living your life based on Her ideals?” Isaac asked, recalling his last conversation with Diane. He hated how much he was beginning to feel it too, especially in that moment, as he watched the woman he loved obliterate every moral obligation he felt towards the world they were supposedly saving.

That was when her eyes showed a sign of emotion: her lips curled downwards, and her nostrils widened. “It’s what I have been born to do. You act as if I am the strange one. You are the ones avoiding your duty.”

“And what exactly is our duty? To save the world or listen to Her?”

Elaine pushed Isaac and yelled, “How dare you suggest that those two are separate? All that woman has ever done is care for the people who have given her nothing!”

“By lying, manipulating, and killing,” Isaac replied calmply. That was his little rebellion; they both knew nothing would become of it. He would never betray her.

“You are simply running away.”

“Which is why my hands are clean.”

“Are they? Do you think watching from afar makes you a saint?” She didn’t have to say the word for him to remember it for the rest of his life.

Hypocrite.

Coward.

Fake.

Prince.

King.

Priest.

He moved away from her in an attempt to regain his composure. The trees all looked significantly more crooked now and the sky was drier than ever. “Where is that Demon girl?”

“I let her do her part.”

“King… What else did you do, hm? Order the Ravens to kill Diane Hunster?”

“I did nothing...”

“Stop lying, Elaine, or I swear...”

“Nothing that concerns you.” She took two steps closer to him again and, when she saw him glaring, dropped her eyes. “Just… Let me do my job, and I’ll let you do yours.”

“What exactly is my job, Elaine?”

“Staying alive.”

He snorted. “For now?”

“Diane Hunster is not a reliable Dove. She needs to be guided, so she would make the right choices…”

“Cornered, you mean?”

Isaac quickly grabbed Elaine’s arm when he heard rustling and panting from the direction in which Thomas had disappeared. He gave her one last look and said: “Go. They won’t know you were here. Just know that if I find out you’ve done something… wicked, I will take care of you personally. I don’t care who you are,” he lied.

Elaine’s eyes widened and her lips trembled slightly. “Don't you worry, dear.” Elaine could barely stand to see the disgust on Isaac’s face, so she turned around. “George Brown is dead. Understood?”

“Enough.”

“You were wrong, the plan has changed.” Despite her voice being incredibly low, Isaac felt her every word in his bones. “Don’t make me change it even more.”

“Just go already.”

She disappeared in the direction she came from. Soon enough Isaac caught a glimpse of Thomas Hammer who was carrying Diane on his back. She had blood allover her face and on her arms.

“Is she alive?” Isaac asked dryly, still looking at where Elaine had stood.

“She’s breathing, so… Have you found him?” Thomas asked with too much hope. He put Diane on the ground and Isaac pulled up his sleeves. His arms started glowing and Diane's face started looking normal again.

Isaac’s throat tightened; it was those eerie eyes that made him regret he didn’t rip Elaine open. “Dead.”

“Oh… I see.”

“It’s a shame,” Isaac said, somehow bored. "She'll be good now. We should og."

Thomas didn’t ask him any more questions. They were both too ready to leave. As they had their hands full with Diane and the sudden strengthening of gravity, they decided to leave the two bodies behind and, with hearts so heavy they might have fallen out had they stayed any longer, return home. There was no frightening beast this time around, only culpability; and it roared their names louder than ever.