When I wake up, the first thing I see isn’t my ceiling.128Please respect copyright.PENANAqUqtDxuw4B
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No glow from my phone. No pile of empty chip packets.128Please respect copyright.PENANAjTGYLz66SE
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Just a white canopy, silk sheets, and gold that’s way too shiny for my tax bracket.128Please respect copyright.PENANANt00OObTJ3
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And then—128Please respect copyright.PENANAKdvs29cKOF
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it hits me.128Please respect copyright.PENANAdW7uom6XLP
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Not like a gentle memory montage.128Please respect copyright.PENANA6uCTmeLQGx
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More like a truck.128Please respect copyright.PENANAPL1ycQlYTI
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Flashes. Fire. Clara’s face. His eyes.128Please respect copyright.PENANAU8XIaLvwoa
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The Witch. The King. Me.128Please respect copyright.PENANA09IogZhrH4
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I sit up, heart pounding. My hands are shaking.128Please respect copyright.PENANACHumksRlG4
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I know now. I know who I am.128Please respect copyright.PENANAFEvlb4EwAP
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And I know what’s about to happen.128Please respect copyright.PENANAkZqpCsvGGV
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Somewhere out there, he’s about to die.128Please respect copyright.PENANAZcqVaXzkad
128Please respect copyright.PENANA1t9AIvwbpQ
For killing Clara.128Please respect copyright.PENANASB7RWflNid
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And I… I remember why.128Please respect copyright.PENANAjhslcCbaX5
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I don’t even think.128Please respect copyright.PENANAlrXisoX4U3
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I throw on the first robe I find and bolt through the hallways.128Please respect copyright.PENANAe14ekj9VnT
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Servants gasp, guards yell, someone calls me Your Grace —128Please respect copyright.PENANAAeMmbvyqWJ
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but I don’t stop.128Please respect copyright.PENANA4zyZnJ6UNI
128Please respect copyright.PENANAmTrFeE1vS2
128Please respect copyright.PENANAiPffuexPog
Because I can see it in my head —128Please respect copyright.PENANAMahJOJQ1mj
128Please respect copyright.PENANAlBxLFquVqt
that boy, the one with the ocean-blue eyes and the calm that makes you want to scream,128Please respect copyright.PENANAqR8eJFHXZp
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being dragged toward a block of stone.128Please respect copyright.PENANAjbQBA9HJjB
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By the time I reach the courtyard, my lungs are on fire.128Please respect copyright.PENANAAWBBV1zoYU
128Please respect copyright.PENANALHogcN82lc
He’s there. Kneeling. Rope cutting into his wrists.128Please respect copyright.PENANAsXJC9uZmaB
128Please respect copyright.PENANAe9ZAZSn8E0
The sword’s already raised.128Please respect copyright.PENANAvyHn6p9IT3
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And I just—128Please respect copyright.PENANAaEnU90a3yR
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scream.128Please respect copyright.PENANAU2U94OHsEn
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128Please respect copyright.PENANA3WqTUo9na5
> “STOP! IT WAS ME!”128Please respect copyright.PENANAoWr4st6ftp
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Everything freezes.128Please respect copyright.PENANAa1Yv05lye0
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Every single head turns.128Please respect copyright.PENANAqV3bqWxrNC
128Please respect copyright.PENANA6fZwX1Vmtv
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> “He didn’t kill her because he wanted to!” I shout, voice cracking.128Please respect copyright.PENANATKXC5V3m5x
128Please respect copyright.PENANA1Ii3YAzaan
“I—I blackmailed him! I told him to do it!”128Please respect copyright.PENANAmDVvam46om
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Gasps. Murmurs. Someone drops a goblet.128Please respect copyright.PENANAhv2c9gEGiA
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And the boy — he just looks at me.128Please respect copyright.PENANATmzjU4Ysfe
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Those same eyes. Blue and endless.128Please respect copyright.PENANAz2pCYxgDQ3
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No confusion. No panic.128Please respect copyright.PENANAPyt2FLxKFA
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Just that same maddening calm.128Please respect copyright.PENANAU45oVKDkux
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Like he knew I’d say it.128Please respect copyright.PENANArdTX2n6B4W
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Like this was always supposed to happen.128Please respect copyright.PENANAE2LTLFypQS
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And standing there, heart about to burst,128Please respect copyright.PENANAufFkFuBFni
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I realize something terrifying.128Please respect copyright.PENANA91bPL0T1ps
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Maybe I didn’t just play the game.128Please respect copyright.PENANAEVkgkm7WAo
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Maybe the game’s been playing me.128Please respect copyright.PENANAj4RZkDxbjR
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The silence that followed my scream was so sharp, I could hear my own heartbeat trying to crawl out of my chest.128Please respect copyright.PENANAuC3dRBYXbB
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Then—128Please respect copyright.PENANAHgHodrG3LY
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a murmur.128Please respect copyright.PENANAHIzSSp1MMb
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Then another.128Please respect copyright.PENANALlr3Y0rpHC
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And suddenly the whole courtyard buzzed like a hive of very judgmental bees.128Please respect copyright.PENANAkwjI4oieVj
128Please respect copyright.PENANAmATl1d47cM
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> “Ah, a sibling quarrel, then.”128Please respect copyright.PENANAPOrwK6rAZE
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“How typical of royal blood.”128Please respect copyright.PENANAnzBMOEq1ro
128Please respect copyright.PENANAOAuIAvDE9F
“The palace hasn’t had one of these in decades.”128Please respect copyright.PENANA8IzlizwqyA
128Please respect copyright.PENANAs90SbD2B5m
128Please respect copyright.PENANAEiyws9UgBF
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They said it like it was tea gossip.128Please respect copyright.PENANA5hsDKAypLP
128Please respect copyright.PENANAbJRB6XneAj
Like Clara’s death was just another headline for tomorrow’s banquet chatter.128Please respect copyright.PENANAN1R9SpsBY1
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128Please respect copyright.PENANAaXFNuXzRcy
The guards hesitated, looked at one another — and then at me.128Please respect copyright.PENANAo8RcJTXH2g
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No one moved to grab me.128Please respect copyright.PENANAJm3eRikVvh
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Instead, one of them quietly cut the ropes binding him.128Please respect copyright.PENANA6scmOayT75
128Please respect copyright.PENANAPdI1yhBpa3
128Please respect copyright.PENANAoBCG7XO0lh
I just stood there.128Please respect copyright.PENANA0qgBl3jeUH
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Half-shaking. Half-laughing in disbelief.128Please respect copyright.PENANAFHloIdMKK9
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He rose slowly, the faint sunlight catching on his golden hair.128Please respect copyright.PENANAnyjjjPcPox
128Please respect copyright.PENANAvZJwTTzRZI
The blood on his hands looked like ink on silk.128Please respect copyright.PENANAKS21tT8WoS
128Please respect copyright.PENANAAywnbMr1xV
His calm didn’t waver.128Please respect copyright.PENANA13C9BcNfGO
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Not once.128Please respect copyright.PENANADmGlaCJ46q
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And the people… just watched.128Please respect copyright.PENANAbvKZarit8Q
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Not outrage. Not horror.128Please respect copyright.PENANA6jXIRZAYsV
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Just detached curiosity.128Please respect copyright.PENANAlP1yFDdj0q
128Please respect copyright.PENANAiOeFyjVz5Q
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I wanted to scream again, but all that came out was a small, cracked laugh.128Please respect copyright.PENANAmF0fLSbKlJ
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> “Cool,” I muttered under my breath.128Please respect copyright.PENANAti9gZG112N
128Please respect copyright.PENANAjKgdksqC1P
“Confessed to royal murder and everyone’s like—‘oh, sibling drama, how quaint.’ Totally fine. Completely normal Tuesday.”128Please respect copyright.PENANAH2drQv9HeB
128Please respect copyright.PENANAtTlMVVnTWR
128Please respect copyright.PENANAeRyzwsdJoq
128Please respect copyright.PENANA7RMAQ5cTkB
128Please respect copyright.PENANAV7ictgcRpe
The boy’s eyes found mine then.128Please respect copyright.PENANAcT9IH6ZwsY
128Please respect copyright.PENANAzNTaiinogV
Blue. Cold. Still.128Please respect copyright.PENANAWQQoDIXbNL
128Please respect copyright.PENANAgp4brNcMwS
No anger. No confusion.128Please respect copyright.PENANAKF2dAfAQz6
128Please respect copyright.PENANAreXTbRfmsP
Just that same, knowing silence.128Please respect copyright.PENANAzKbwgsglUT
128Please respect copyright.PENANA8scqSom8M7
128Please respect copyright.PENANAXfbxm5k1i7
And then he turned.128Please respect copyright.PENANAqAx1FVjAgl
128Please respect copyright.PENANA4Txv1WplG3
Walked away.128Please respect copyright.PENANA4fp12oTgNs
128Please respect copyright.PENANAWowAPccoR8
Free.128Please respect copyright.PENANA6uI9tsFQSL
128Please respect copyright.PENANA6nQ3UwqVUI
128Please respect copyright.PENANAfUgJzCaT8O
Leaving me there—128Please respect copyright.PENANAK5iDAMmxhM
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alone, surrounded by murmurs,128Please respect copyright.PENANAKz7ry60dE0
128Please respect copyright.PENANAwu7gQ8RuGh
wondering what kind of nightmare lets you take the blame for a murder and still somehow feel like you’re the one being executed.
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The Game Of Fate
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The Game Of Fate
Author:
Luna
ISSUE #9
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