Her once elegant silver hair was now stained red and completely disheveled. Her sapphire blue eyes streamed endlessly with tears. The magnificent white gown she once treasured—embroidered with gold and adorned with precious jewels—was now ruined, soaked and tainted by her own blood.
Even the face she had cared for so dearly was bruised and swollen from the hands of the people she trusted most.
"Charles..." Her voice trembled weakly. "H-how could you do this to me? You promised... you promised you would always love me..."
A mocking sigh escaped from the woman standing outside the prison cell.
"You're really stupid, aren't you?"
Sabrina's body froze.
"J-Jennifer...?" Her voice cracked. "W-what are you saying...?"
Jennifer slowly stepped closer under the dim light, revealing the golden crown resting proudly atop her dark hair. In her hand was something Sabrina recognized instantly.
A golden royal seal.
"T-that's Father's seal..." Sabrina's eyes widened in horror. "W-why do you have that...?"
Jennifer suddenly laughed.
It was cruel.
Cold.
Nothing like the gentle friend Sabrina once knew.
"Didn't you know?" Jennifer mocked, wiping the tears forming in the corner of her eyes from laughing too much. "Of course you wouldn't know. You're far too ignorant."
She crouched slightly near the bars.
"Do you remember the day you drowned in the lake?"
Sabrina's breathing stopped.
"You accused your fiancé of pushing you into the water." Jennifer tilted her head mockingly. "But was it really his fault?"
Sabrina froze completely.
Jennifer smiled.
"To tell you the truth..." Her smile widened slowly. "I'm the one who pushed you."
No...
"It was Alexander who jumped into the lake and saved you." Jennifer laughed again. "That foolish man nearly died because of you."
Sabrina's pupils shook violently.
What...?
No... that can't be...
Then why didn't he explain himself?
Why did he stay silent?
Why... did I never try to believe him?
Before Sabrina could even process the truth, footsteps echoed through the dungeon.
Charles appeared from the darkness dressed in luxurious black noble attire embroidered with silver. Resting upon his head was the royal crown of Sylveraine.
Sabrina's entire body trembled.
"Charles..." she whispered shakily. "W-why are you wearing Father's crown...?"
Charles smirked before wrapping his arm around Jennifer's waist naturally.
"This?" He touched the crown lazily. "It's my reward."
His brown eyes looked down at Sabrina without warmth.
"For killing your father."
Sabrina's breath hitched painfully.
"For getting rid of my greatest obstacle, Duke Alexander Ravenshade."
Tears immediately filled her eyes.
"And lastly..." His lips curled into a cruel smile. "For executing the traitorous princess who destroyed her own kingdom."
"No..." Sabrina shook her head desperately. "No... that's not true..."
Charles slowly approached the bars of her prison cell.
"Do you know why everything was so easy?" he asked softly.
His hand suddenly grabbed her chin harshly.
"Because you trusted me more than the people who truly loved you."
Her body trembled violently.
The King was dead.
The Queen was dead.
Alexander was dead.
And it was all because of her.
"You loved me..." Sabrina whispered brokenly. "Didn't you say you loved me...?"
Charles stared at her for a moment before laughing softly.
"You were useful, Sabrina."
The moment those words left his lips, something inside her shattered completely.
The wounds covering her body burned painfully. The whip marks across her back split open again. Blood continued dripping down onto the cold dungeon floor beneath her chained body.
Then suddenly, Charles sighed as if remembering something amusing.
"Ah..." He smiled cruelly. "Do you want to know what Alexander's last words were?"
Sabrina froze.
Charles leaned closer to the bars.
"'I love her more than my own life.'" He chuckled mockingly. "'Even if it costs me everything, I only want her safe.'"
Sabrina's entire body shook.
No...
No...
"'Please don't hurt the Princess.'"
A broken sob escaped from her lips.
Even until the very end...
Alexander was still protecting her.
Charles watched her collapse with amusement.
"Oh right," he suddenly added casually. "Before I forget."
Something rolled across the dungeon floor.
Sabrina slowly lowered her gaze.
The moment she saw them, her breathing stopped entirely.
Two crimson eyes stared back at her from the ground.
Alexander's eyes.
"N-no..." Her trembling hands immediately reached toward them. "No... no no no..."
Charles had gouged out his eyes.
A horrifying scream escaped her throat as she clutched them desperately against her chest, sobbing uncontrollably.
No...
It's all my fault...
If only I had trusted him...
If only I had believed him...
Then maybe...
Maybe none of this would've happened.