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Annabel froze as she reached the courtyard, feeling the dozen of gazes turned to her; of those who wish to be her allies and those she has made foes. She knows how this looks, she can twist the narrative. But. but. It would mean dropping Lenore, abandoning her to her possie of no good-
Now's her chance. One of Lenore's pawns walks up to her angrily; she knows this one. The one they had in the wall.
She could drop her at his feet now. She could make it seem like a coincidence, say she'd stumbled upon her while she ran back for her ring, but her body refuses to let go of Lenore's now fading figure, not in this weakened state. She couldn't leave the life of her pet in some pawn's hand. If anyone were able to bring her back, able to fix this and cure her- that was Annabel. She has to.
Lenore could not die by her hands again
Finally deciding once and for all what to do, she pushes past the man yelling at her and does not look back as his body hits the ground with a slight breathless huff. The crowd naturally parts for her, and she dodges the hand that reaches for her as she makes her way to Ms. Poppet.
Annabel does not meet Prospero's questioning gaze.
There are tears running down her cheeks; sharp loose rocks littering the floor are cutting up the soles of her feet. She does not stop till she is where Ms. Poppet is attending to Ada and does not take a second to think before she pushes Ada to the side to make room for her pet.
She does not acknowledge Montressor's foul cursing when he stood to be the only thing keeping Ada from falling unceremoniously on the pavement.
"Ms. Poppet, you have to help her, she's- It was the stag. You can't let her die, you can't." Annabel starts to say, voice pleading yet calm. She was not begging, this was a demand. A demand she refused to not be fulfilled.
"Miss Annabel, as I've told you before, even that of which miss Ada's condition I can not treat at this moment, much less-" "NO!"
A wave of silence passes through a courtyard, where not even the sound of a single breathe could be heard, not a single soul dared to move.
"NO! You listen to me. You will tell me what is needed to cure Lenore's condition and I will get it for you or so help me I will make sure the next dawn she is not able to see, you will not either." Annabel's specter flickers slowly to life; despite her own condition, it was not weak. It was unstable; and radiated more power than anything before her. She was serious on this threat, and neither the promise of demerits nor death could change her mind.
She would not scorn her lover again.
Ms. Poppet snarled, but her lips shook with a fear she could not mask. "MR. MONTRESSOR!" The woman yelled out "Go place Miss Ada on the grass, and someone get me-"
Annabel dropped to her knees, specter disappearing and leaving her in her thorn and dirty sleeping garments once again. Once more, she looked up at Lenore's almost peaceful face and once again vowed that she would not lose her again.
Then it all went dark.