Chapter Text
It took only one question to decide the fate of the Woods.
Sophie sat by the window, her fingers tracing the rim of her cup, though her tea had long since gone cold. She watched the sky, or what passed for a sky, as the pale, watery sun climbed sluggishly over the horizon. The light was weak, barely reaching past the twisted branches of the wilted and rotten Blue Forest. She wasn’t sure if it could even be called a sun anymore.
The world outside the window looked fragile, like it could shatter with a single tremor of the ground.
Soon, her fairytale would have to end once and for all, or the world would die with it.
She couldn’t pretend she knew what path she would choose.
She sighs, the sound loud in the otherwise quiet room. Her heart felt heavy and cold. She could hear the faint rustle of the Woods outside, but everything was muted, as if the entire Woods was holding its breath.
Waiting for her.
One wrong move and she could ruin everything. Ruin her happy ending. Her Never After. She fidgets with the ring Rafal had given her, staring down at it, at her warped reflection staring back at her.
The sudden thought of it all pressed down on her, sharp and urgent, and before she could stop herself, she called out, “Rafal!”
“Yes?” The voice came from directly behind her and she jumped, startled, her hand flying to her chest. Rafal leaned casually against the wall, amused, an eyebrow quirked.
“Did I scare you?” he teased lightly.
“No! Not at all!” Sophie said too quickly, forcing a laugh she didn’t feel.
Rafal grinned, the kind of grin that both soothed and unsettled her. “If you say so.” He stepped closer, curious. “What did you need?”
Sophie swallowed, nervous. She could feel the words gathering, the words she wanted to ask, trembling at the edge of her lips. She took a deep breath, meeting his gaze head on, every nerve in her body screaming at her to stop.
“I… I just wanted to know. You said the ring I wear, the ring you gave me keeps you alive. How does that work? I know it’s black swan gold, yes, and I know you needed it to bring me back to you-” She cuts herself off, the worlds tumbling out before she can stop them.
Rafal’s face changed subtly. His eyes hardened, the weak light catching the sharp line of his jaw as he considered her words. Then he spoke, slowly, considering.
“Do you remember the end of your first year here? When my brother attempted to kill me?” Sophie nods. “And you remember that he turned into a white swan?” Another nod. "I, too, possess the same ability. I turn into a black swan."
“The ring you wear… that ring is made from gold taken from me. It holds a piece of my soul.”
Sophie’s eyes widened, the implications weighing heavily on her mind. “But that means-”
“That ring is the key to my immortality,” Rafal says, eyes sharp. “‘Destroy it, and you destroy me.”
She froze. He trusted her with this? No one had ever trusted her with something so important. He had given her a piece of himself, his life, his soul, his very being. And she had already betrayed him once before? She bit her lip, wondering how he could trust her so much.
“I trust you,” he said softly. “I trust you because you trust me, Sophie. I trust you because you have learned, as I did, that loving anyone Good destroys you. That Good and Evil can never co-exist. That is how I know you won’t betray me.” His voice is final.
“How did you-” she starts, but he laughs, cutting her off. It was a laugh that filled the room, brushed away some of the doubt, the darkness in her mind. “Haven’t we gone over this?” he said. “I know how a Reader’s mind works.”
Sophie crossed her arms, unwilling to smile, unsure if he was mocking her.
“Not that it’s a bad thing,” he added quickly, seeing her glare.
Her hand found his arm, hesitant. “I won’t betray you, Rafal,” she whispered, voice steadier than she really felt. “I swear it.” She knew what that meant, what she would have to do.
He smiled then, and it was a small thing, confident and powerful, like a promise itself. “I know.”
The Woods were silent except for the crunch of leaves under feet and the distant, panicked screams of students fleeing. Sophie’s gaze swept across the clearing, impassive, as Rafal’s spells landed again and again, precise and deadly. Tedros and Agatha had escaped, somehow, but she was done with them, once and for all. She had betrayed them one final time and they had left. Before her, the sight of her father’s broken body made her stomach twist, but her face betrayed nothing.
She looked at Rafal then, and for the first time in days, she allowed herself to feel. His eyes shone in the dim light, not with malice, but with a radiant certainty, and he moved towards her. Before she could think, he had lifted her into his arms and their lips met. Sophie responded with everything she had, letting her adoration for him spill into the chaos, the ruins around them.
As they kissed, the sun peeked over the horizon, and it was not weak and watery like before. It rose, bold and bright, a tale finished.
When he pulled back, he looked at the sky once, and then at her. “For a moment there,” he said softly. “I almost doubted you.”
She tiled her head, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. “I did tell you I wouldn’t betray you.”
“Yes, you did,” he agreed, a triumphant smile on his own face. “And now we take care of those who did.”
Sophie’s smile darkened, sharpening. “That would be my pleasure,” she said.
Together, they turned to face the army behind them, a sea of faces that had chosen the wrong side. Lady Lesso laid on the ground, Professor Dovey clasping her to her chest as they both stare at Rafal and Sophie with horrified eyes. Alive, for now.
For the first time, Sophie let herself feel all her emotions fully. The present was hers, terrifying and beautiful. And it was enough.
For now.